Somerset set for stinking summer as Suez staff ballot for strikes over substandard pay offer
- Wednesday 31 May 2023
Somerset residents should be braced for a summer of refuse collection strikes Unite, the UK’s leading union, has warned.
Unite is balloting over 200 members employed by waste management company, Suez, for industrial action after the workers rejected a sub-standard pay offer of 5.8 per cent. The offer amounts to a substantial real terms pay cut, with the true inflation rate (RPI) currently standing at 11.4 per cent.
Low pay
The workers are responsible for refuse collection across the county on a contract tendered by Somerset Waste Partnerships, which is operated by Somerset council. Existing wage rates are low, with drivers paid just £13.63 an hour despite being required to hold an HGV licence, while loaders are paid just £10.98 and expected to work in all weathers.
The industrial ballot opens today (Wednesday 31 May) and closes on Wednesday 14 June. If workers vote for strike action then strikes could begin before the end of next month.
Real terms pay cut
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members are not going to accept a significant real terms pay cut by a company that can fully afford to make a fair pay offer but has chosen not to.
“Unite does what it says on the trade union tin and always defends the jobs, pay and conditions of its members. The workforce at Suez in Somerset will receive Unite’s total support.”
Highly profitable company
Suez is a highly profitable company and it made a gross profit of £81 million in 2021.
Unite regional officer Tim Morris said: “Somerset residents will be alarmed at the prospect of a summer refuse strike but this dispute is totally of Suez’s own making. Unite has given the company every chance to make an offer our members could accept and it has declined to do so.”
South West strikes
The looming strike in Somerset is the third refuse dispute in the South West. Workers at Suez in South Gloucestershire are set to begin strike action next month, while workers employed by Bristol Waste are also balloting over pay.
ENDS
For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite senior communications officer Barckley Sumner on 07802 329235 or 0203 371 2067.
Email: [email protected]
Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.