Many residents in the London Borough of Bromley will see their waste go uncollected after around 100 refuse collection staff employed by waste management company Veolia announced three days of striking action across two weeks.

The workers, members of the Unite trade union, plan to strike from midnight to midnight for one day on Monday 24 August and two days starting Thursday 3 September over what they consider to be ‘years of below-inflation pay’.

Collections take place in the borough every day, with households receiving individual residual waste and paper recycling collections every two weeks on a cycle. In addition, food waste is collected once a week.

Unite predicts that the collection service will be a day behind schedule after the first day of action, with the further two days hampering efforts to catch up, causing the service to lag further behind.

According to Unite, the council has offered a 1.5 per cent raise on the pay year starting last April, while the union is asking for a four per cent increase.

The strikes would be the latest of several to have hit Bromley Council services this year, as Unite offices in London and the Eastern region run the Fair Deal for Local Government campaign, which is aimed against ‘privatisation and austerity in local government’.

In July passenger transport for older people and for people with learning difficulties had to stop for two days due to a lack of staff, while two public libraries, the Central Library and Petts Wood Library, were forced to close for three days.

‘Demoralised’ workforce still seeking resolution

Unite Regional Officer Onay Kasab said: “Workers are angry, as they have to cover heavier and heavier workloads following a number of rounds being cut.

“For years they have had below inflation pay rises – but now that inflation has dropped, the employers are happy to use it as a bench mark – so it’s a catch-and-match up claim.

“Veolia should have got the message – but it clearly hasn’t. That is why we have now issued notice for strike action. This is a very unhappy and demoralised workforce, being asked to take on more work but not being recognised for it.

“Veolia has a final chance for talks – we urge them to take that opportunity. The alternative is for the strike to go-ahead with the prospect of uncollected dustbins causing a stink in the late summer sunshine.

“This dispute is another example of the council’s misguided privatisation programme which relies on Veolia cutting collection rounds for householders and real term pay cuts for our refuse collection members."

'Politically-motivated' action won't help staff or residents

In response to the threatened strikes, Councillor Colin Smith, Executive Councillor for Environment, said: “Unite’s latest attempt to manufacture a pointless politically motivated strike helps neither the collection crews nor Bromley residents in the slightest.

"I remain hopeful that the majority of Veolia employees will consider all the issues carefully, refuse to allow themselves to be used in this manner and that common sense will prevail.”

A spokesperson for Veolia in Bromley said: "We have been notified this morning of possible strike action in Bromley and are seeking to work closely with Unite to resolve this situation."

Learn more about the London Borough of Bromley Council’s recycling and waste scheme.