COUNCIL workers providing essential services through the health crisis to the residents of Thurrock will strike for three weeks because of Thurrock Council’s plans to “brutally cut their pay and conditions” says Unite the Union.
Refuse workers, highway maintenance and street cleaners will take strike action from Tuesday 13 April until Friday 7 May, excluding 3 May. The very workers who have been supporting residents, by providing key services throughout the current health crisis, are furious that they are now the target of proposed cuts of between £2,000 – £3,500 a year for refuse workers, highway maintenance and street cleaners.
Meanwhile, the council has not proposed any cuts to the pay and conditions of senior management. Lyn Carpenter, the chief executive earns almost £200,000 a year.
Unite regional officer Michelle Cook said: “Unite will not accept these proposals to slash the pay of these council heroes who have provided essential services to the residents of Thurrock throughout this pandemic. “We have given the council months to rethink these brutal pay cuts which will leave key workers struggling to make ends meet.
“The council appears to be prepared to disrupt its residents’ key services and attack its employees’ conditions. Chief Executive, Lyn Carpenter has a small window of opportunity to prevent this strike. We hope she will get around the negotiating table to avoid this dispute.”
Normally I would support them, but they have missed our road 1 or 2 times a month. Often rude because we have had to put extra refuse in bags due to them missing the road previous weeks, so in this instance I would say do your job and you’ll get support from the public, but act like your bosses and why should we treat you differently.
They must feel stabbed in the back whilst the management take more morally wrong
Bloody disgusting. I see these people working soon after 5am in morning taking locals bins why these white collar workers are snoring in bed!!!!!
I like these workers have been working through the pandemic i am with these people all the way…
Am in full support of them going on strike, if there is to be a pay cut it should go right across the board including senior management
Get rid of the DEAD WOOD in TBC’s offices, which is probably about 90 percent of them. i mean WTF do they do. sit on their arses all day drinking coffee and slagging off the people that do the REAL work. you are useless TBC.
That will lead to even more fly-tipping!
I support them 100%.
I don’t blame them. That is a real kick in the teeth. Senior Management need to rethink and perhaps take pay cuts themselves before reducing essential workers pay by such a huge amount.
I agree with these workers they do a good job they cant just cut peoples wages ..
You get nearly double the pay of a early years practioner who has also worked though covid doing alot more work than what bin men would be doing. Early years staff is on minium wage so stop your wining and if you don’t like the pay look for another job simple as. Why make people more stressed about their rubbish this time around. Do you see early years staff going on strike for more money… nooo..they look for a better job where yhe money is at like the rest of us!!! Ye binmen are very selfish through these times
It is well known that councils need to save money, but cutting the wages of essential staff is not the way to do it. I really think the executives of the council should resign if they insist on pushing this through, although if they took a pay cut too it would seem fairer. I fully support the action planned by the refuse and maintenance workers.
Bin men, bone idle, should be happy to be working, hardly a hard job now, plenty of unemployed who could do it, why should they get extra for doing their job, an excuse not to work.
Mr Keith Nicholl. 97 Heathview Road RM16 2RT
Should our bins not be collected I will withhold my council tax as a protest