Newham refuse workers strike back at rubbish pay

Newham bin strikers on the picket line on Saturday (Picture: Alan Kenny)

Newham refuse workers in east London have walked out in a battle over pay. Loaders and HGV drivers began strikes last Saturday and will continue action for seven days.

The Labour-led council has attempted to mislead local residents about the dispute and paid agency staff to break the strike by Unite union members. It’s similar to the scab tactics that were used by the Labour controlled Coventry council recently against bin strikers.

“I want better pay and conditions and for the bullying to stop,” Newham striker Phil told Socialist Worker. “It’s terrible we’re being treated like this, especially by a Labour council. They may as well change their flags from red to blue.

“They treat us like shit because they think they can do what they like. They could settle this if they wanted. They go along with the Tories’ laws and say they can’t do anything about it.”

Newham mayor Rokhsana Fiaz released a statement last Saturday claiming workers have “snubbed wage rises of £2,229”. She also said they had “turned their backs” on extras including a £2,000 retention fee for HGV drivers, overtime payments and increased payments for bank holidays.

Combined with the nationally proposed pay settlement from the government, she wants Newham residents to believe that pay would increase between 13.8 percent to 17.9 percent. Fiaz added that Newham residents will “suffer” and “earn significantly less” than the strikers. It is a sickening attempt to turn local people on the bin workers.

Her calculations are lies. The one-off government offer of £1,900 to local government workers has been outright rejected by Unite for being too low.

And the retention fee paid to the drivers and loaders is to make up for the fact they could be paid higher somewhere else.

An additional £850 for bonuses is only based on whether the strikers work bank holidays and overtime. If workers are sick or rounds are not completed, they receive nothing.

Workers also suffered a cut to overtime five years ago—from time and a half on a Saturday to time and a quarter. They were also paid an extra £25 during the early stages of the pandemic which was later taken away.

So the bonuses make up for what has already been lost. In total, the basic rate of pay the strikers have been offered is next to nothing. 

The workers are currently contracted to do eight days of overtime. It means to make up pay, they have to do more work.

Striker Tony told Socialist Worker, “I earn less now than when I started 17 years ago. They deliberately make our pay complicated so it’s harder to make a stand. Well, we are now—this has been a long time coming.”

The strikers explained that refuse workers in other London boroughs earn more than in Newham, as it is classed as “outer London”. “This is an excuse,” Phil added. Council executives are on £100,000 to £200,000 salaries but we have had three pay rises in 13 years—one of those was last year at 1.75 percent.”

“We work really hard,” Tony explained. “The loaders walk for up to seven or eight miles a day, and are breathing in all sorts. I just want a decent wage for the work we do.

“If the pay they say they’re offering was all in our pay packet rather than bonuses and add-ons, we wouldn’t be out here. Do they really think we’d strike if we were offered an 18 percent pay rise?

“They are sitting on so much money—but it doesn’t go where it’s needed. It’s unfair—the people they need most are us and we’re not paid properly.”

Strikers are trying to beat the council bosses’ strike breaking by recruiting agency workers to the union.  Many street cleaners have now joined Unite, are also being balloted for strikes and could be out in the next few weeks.

The loaders and drivers are set to announce further strikes to escalate their dispute. “We will be out for as long as it takes,” Phil said.

• Phil and Tony are pseudonyms