Workers, including tree surgeons, gardeners and grave diggers, furious at intimidation and interference tactics during strike ballot

Great Yarmouth bin and street cleaning workers have voted overwhelmingly for strike action over poverty pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today.

Around 100 workers, will strike over a 3.3 per cent pay offer from council-owned Great Yarmouth Services.

For the majority of workers this would not even take them to the minimum wage, which increased by 4.1 per cent in April, meaning they have been given a pay rise of nothing at all.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Great Yarmouth’s pay offer is slap in the face to workers that do hard dirty work in rain, wind or oppressive heat to keep the town clean and tidy. They have Unite’s total support in striking for a fair deal.”

Before the strike vote, council officials told the workers that they should think themselves lucky with the legal minimum wage as the town is a ‘low wage, poverty area’ and that if they were unhappy they ‘should work for Sainsbury or Tesco’.

During the vote, workers were falsely told they could lose their jobs if they take industrial action and that strikes would not have any impact because agency staff would be brought in – which would be unlawful.

In addition, the room allocated for union business was locked with the keys reported missing when a number of meetings were scheduled. The keys were found shortly after the meetings were supposed to finish.

Strike action severely impacting household waste collections, street cleaning, landscaping and grave digging services during the height of the summer season will be announced in the coming days.

Unite regional officer Claire Lees said: “Great Yarmouth council will have to answer to residents, businesses and tourists about why it has caused a stinky summer by mistreating workers. The petty attempts at intimidation and interference have just made the situation worse.

“The only way this dispute will end is to stop disrespecting our members, sit around the table and negotiate an acceptable offer.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • The dispute also includes members of the Unison and GMB unions.

  • Great Yarmouth Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Yarmouth council.

  • Unite understands that Great Yarmouth Services is currently honouring minimum wage pay rates.

For media enquires ONLY contact senior Unite communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215 or 020 3371 2065.

  • Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.