Bin workers in Havering have gone on strike in a dispute over pay and are set to demonstrate outside Havering Town Hall on Friday, after Unite said staff are being paid far less than workers doing equivalent jobs in neighbouring Redbridge.
The workers are employed by FCC Waste Management and include drivers and loaders. According to the union, the walkout began on Monday, October 26, and is due to end tomorrow, Friday, October 30, with a protest outside the town hall.
The union argues that Havering staff are underpaid compared with colleagues in the next borough.
How pay compares
Unite said a new starter loader in Havering is paid £12.88 an hour. In Redbridge, the equivalent role is paid £15.72 an hour.
For drivers, the union said new starters in Havering are paid £17.24 an hour, compared with £19.89 in Redbridge.
The union also said loaders in Havering are set to be paid 17 per cent less than the new London real living wage of £15.45.
Union criticism of FCC and the council
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These are key workers who deserve to be paid fairly. It is nonsensical that they earn so little in comparison to their counterparts in the next borough and FCC and Havering Council have serious questions to answer over this.”
She added: “FCC must also listen to its workers’ concerns over conditions. Unite will not allow our members to be left struggling to afford essentials and working under poor conditions and will continue to back these workers every step of the way.”
Unite regional officer Danny Hoggan said workers had been left struggling to make ends meet and that the union was willing to meet FCC to negotiate an end to the row if there were immediate meaningful changes to pay and conditions.
What happens next
The strike is scheduled to continue until Friday, October 30, when workers are expected to protest outside Havering Town Hall.
The source material does not give a time for the demonstration, nor does it set out any agreement between the union, FCC Waste Management and Havering Council.
At this stage, Unite’s position is that the dispute can be resolved through negotiations if FCC changes course on pay and conditions. No response from FCC Waste Management or Havering Council was included in the source provided.
