[News] Brighton waste collection strike….

[WATFORD zero]

Yes, I heard it on South Today. The reporter was Piers Hopkirk, and he was stood outside Hove Town Hall. That's good enough for me.

Post #345 quotes a South Today report from yesterday - which may well still be available on catch-up

I've just checked the lunchtime, evening and late night South Today from yesterday and weirdly, they don't mention the strike at all. Main stories Girl with Heart transplant, Small companies energy bills, football and homophobia and which trees are best at storing carbon

Still can't find a source - anyone ?

Surely if details of the settlement are being reported there must be a record of it somewhere

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I've just checked the lunchtime, evening and late night South Today from yesterday and weirdly, they don't mention the strike at all. Main stories Girl with Heart transplant, Small companies energy bills, football and homophobia and which trees are best at storing carbon

Still can't find a source - anyone ?

Computer says Piers Hopkirk reports for BBC South East which is the version of South Today that [MENTION=41643]Eric the meek[/MENTION] watched. There's another version based in, dunno, Salisbury or something. Nowhere near here anyways. Don't make me look it up meself. Tho to be fair, I've got nothing much better to do

*edit* There you go - it's the lead story (available til 7pm tonight)

South East Today, Evening News: 18/10/2021: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0010s0r via @bbciplayer

 

[WATFORD zero]

Computer says Piers Hopkirk reports for BBC South East which is the version of South Today that [MENTION=41643]Eric the meek[/MENTION] watched. There's another version based in, dunno, Salisbury or something. Nowhere near here anyways. Don't make me look it up meself. Tho to be fair, I've got nothing much better to do

Hadn't considered the regional thing and thought it strange there was no mention. Thank you

"It is understood that drivers will get an increase of around £6,000 a year, the other roles will get an increase of between £1000 and £3000 per year"

So the 30 odd Drivers/Chargehands with the HGV licenses (currently Salary banded scale 4 - £20,092 to £21,748) will get around £6,000 and the other operatives on far lower will get between £1000 and £3000. And I am guessing the other 1,000 workers getting rises must be other council workers on the same grades.

Not sure it would get me rushing to train for my HGV licence.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Ok so he can sit on his arse and drive a big lorry but it is hardly taxing mentally. I would still rather the Nurses got £30k a year instead of them.

You have a low opinion of lorry drivers then?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Hadn't considered the regional thing and thought it strange there was no mention. Thank you

"It is understood that drivers will get an increase of around £6,000 a year, the other roles will get an increase of between £1000 and £3000 per year"

So the 30 odd Drivers/Chargehands Salary banded scale 4 (£20,092 to £21,748) will get around £6,000 and the other operatives on far lower will get between £1000 and £3000.

And I am guessing the other 1,000 workers must be people on the same grades.

Council spokesman (multiple sources) does appear to be confirming that the pay increase will be applied across council workers as a whole. Good.

He said: "The significant and generous deal will benefit some of the lowest paid staff across the whole council as well as the Cityclean service and recognises their immense daily contribution to the city and vital support during the pandemic."

 

[WATFORD zero]

Council spokesman (multiple sources) does appear to be confirming that the pay increase will be applied across council workers as a whole. Good.

He said: "The significant and generous deal will benefit some of the lowest paid staff across the whole council as well as the Cityclean service and recognises their immense daily contribution to the city and vital support during the pandemic."

I really struggle to understand how giving a pay rise to low paid workers, who kept the country going throughout Covid can be a bad thing

It seems there are two of us

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I really struggle to understand how giving a pay rise to low paid workers, who kept the country going throughout Covid can be a bad thing

It seems there are two of us

I agree with you but with the following points :

1. The increase in council tax which obviously has to happen to cover it will hit other low paid workers the hardest - i.e. nurses and care workers. Not everyone lives in an affluent burb of the city with a decent disposable income.

2. The strikers were never asking for a pay rise (allegedly) so you have to ask why one was offered.

3. If the ultimate (unpublished) aim really was a pay rise then the council / taxpayers have been blackmailed using a lie.

4. No mention has been given by the council about what will happen to TAs pay. After all this is what triggered the last long dispute - i.e. binmen took a pay cut so that their pay and TA pay were on the same scales.

The whole thing has been a shambolic cockup by the council. It should never have got as far as a strike. But I'm not surprised as both our Green councils have been complete cockwombles - I'll remind you of the Kitcats and Ben Duncan to start. And of course Mrs Kitcat's disdain for locals*.

*Whilst taking her clothes off for the camera.

 

[Weststander]

Hadn't considered the regional thing and thought it strange there was no mention. Thank you

"It is understood that drivers will get an increase of around £6,000 a year, the other roles will get an increase of between £1000 and £3000 per year"

So the 30 odd Drivers/Chargehands with the HGV licenses (currently Salary banded scale 4 - £20,092 to £21,748) will get around £6,000 and the other operatives on far lower will get between £1000 and £3000. And I am guessing the other 1,000 workers getting rises must be other council workers on the same grades.

Not sure it would get me rushing to train for my HGV licence.

Typical total income for a driver before yesterday's £6,000 pay rise was £26,310, here's an actual job advert.
https://www.jobsgopublic.com/vacancies/178907?ga_client_id=00482f1c-c420-458e-909e-acb972a00876

Hopefully £32,310 makes a job we wouldn't do more 'palatable'.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I've just checked the lunchtime, evening and late night South Today from yesterday and weirdly, they don't mention the strike at all. Main stories Girl with Heart transplant, Small companies energy bills, football and homophobia and which trees are best at storing carbon

Still can't find a source - anyone ?

Surely if details of the settlement are being reported there must be a record of it somewhere

The 6k figure was also quoted on the main BBC Breakfast programme this am.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Typical total income for a driver before yesterday's £6,000 pay rise was £26,310, here's an actual job advert.
https://www.jobsgopublic.com/vacancies/178907?ga_client_id=00482f1c-c420-458e-909e-acb972a00876

Hopefully £32,310 makes a job we wouldn't do more 'palatable'.

I was quoting from the same ad before Market Supplement and Guaranteed Overtime. But hopefully you're right and these HGV drivers will stay in the job rather than get tempted elsewhere with the current Supermarket and supply chain bonuses being offered to recruit HGV drivers

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Hadn't considered the regional thing and thought it strange there was no mention. Thank you

"It is understood that drivers will get an increase of around £6,000 a year, the other roles will get an increase of between £1000 and £3000 per year"

So the 30 odd Drivers/Chargehands with the HGV licenses (currently Salary banded scale 4 - £20,092 to £21,748) will get around £6,000 and the other operatives on far lower will get between £1000 and £3000. And I am guessing the other 1,000 workers getting rises must be other council workers on the same grades.

Not sure it would get me rushing to train for my HGV licence.

Couple of things here....

We were told the strike was never about pay - it was about 'working practices' - what has happened is that the Council has offered and then given them a pay rise - which will subsequently lead to a significant pay increase to other Council workers... good thing/bad thing - you decide but it will be paid for by all Council Tax payers - lots of whom will be low paid - and employed in the private sector with no pay rise to pay the increase in Council Tax.

We also haven't heard whether the changes in working practices that were the reason for the strike have been accepted?

The Council and the GMB are both to blame. The Council for offering a pay rise when it wasn't the reason for the strike and the GMB being inflexible when it comes to changing their working practices.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Couple of things here....

We were told the strike was never about pay - it was about 'working practices' - what has happened is that the Council has offered and then given them a pay rise - which will subsequently lead to a significant pay increase to other Council workers... good thing/bad thing - you decide but it will be paid for by all Council Tax payers - lots of whom will be low paid - and employed in the private sector with no pay rise to pay the increase in Council Tax.

We also haven't heard whether the changes in working practices that were the reason for the strike have been accepted?

The Council and the GMB are both to blame. The Council for offering a pay rise when it wasn't the reason for the strike and the GMB being inflexible when it comes to changing their working practices.

Not the quoted reason. (But the other stated grievances didn't stand up to much scrutiny.)

I'm not sure what choice the council had, given that a separate 5 week strike was about to start. They had to do whatever to get this mess cleaned up

We'll never know which of the parties first suggested the possibility of the payrise. I suspect that behind the closed doors Turner made the suggestion and the council felt they were over a barrel and had to pay

 

[Weststander]

I was quoting from the same ad before Market Supplement and Guaranteed Overtime. But hopefully you're right and these HGV drivers will stay in the job rather than get tempted elsewhere with the current Supermarket and supply chain bonuses being offered to recruit HGV drivers

Sorry for challenging your figure, my factual/numerical mind's drawn to the bottom line of the real world true gross pay.

Regarding your new snide comment, that's alright, 137 Polish drivers are on their way with three month contracts to fill the vacuum.

 

[Creaky]

So an unqualified bin driver who just sits in his cab is now on £30k per annum and that hard working qualified Nurse just finishing a tiring shift is on how much??
Binmen AND Mark Turner, hold your heads in shame.

On average between £33k and £35k - not enough I agree but unlike the HGV driver there is a career path - the top nursing band has salaries between £93k and £108k

https://www.nurses.co.uk/blog/a-quick-overview-of-nurses--salaries-in-the-uk-in-2021/

 

[Eric the meek]

Hadn't considered the regional thing and thought it strange there was no mention. Thank you

"It is understood that drivers will get an increase of around £6,000 a year, the other roles will get an increase of between £1000 and £3000 per year"

So the 30 odd Drivers/Chargehands with the HGV licenses (currently Salary banded scale 4 - £20,092 to £21,748) will get around £6,000 and the other operatives on far lower will get between £1000 and £3000. And I am guessing the other 1,000 workers getting rises must be other council workers on the same grades.

Not sure it would get me rushing to train for my HGV licence.

Neither had I. Nor had I ever noticed that the regional news program that I often watch after the Six o-clock news, (and have been doing so for years), was called South East Today, and not South Today. My apologies for being an old git.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Sorry for challenging your figure, my factual/numerical mind's drawn to the bottom line of the real world true gross pay.

Regarding your new snide comment, that's alright, 137 Polish drivers are on their way with three month contracts to fill the vacuum.

I'm not sure what is snide about highlighting that the HGV drivers who were on strike are very much in demand ?

And I'm guessing the Polish drivers have been sitting on their arses for the last 11 months waiting for the Government U-Turn on temporary visas just like the 800 butchers

 

[WATFORD zero]

Neither had I. Nor had I ever noticed that the regional news program that I often watch after the Six o-clock news, (and have been doing so for years), was called South East Today, and not South Today. My apologies for being an old git.

No problem. As has become obvious, nor did I, so am I, and mine too

 

[Weststander]

I'm not sure what is snide about highlighting that the HGV drivers who were on strike are very much in demand ?

And I'm guessing the Polish drivers have been sitting on their arses for the last 11 months waiting for the Government U-Turn on temporary visas just like the 800 butchers

Meant light heartedly, unable to miss the all roads lead to Brexit @WZ commentary.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

But hopefully you're right and these HGV drivers will stay in the job rather than get tempted elsewhere with the current Supermarket and supply chain bonuses being offered to recruit HGV drivers

I think this is the elephant in the room, there have already been stories of companies tapping up bin drivers, which gives the drivers an advantage negotiating. If drivers do leave because they don't like working for the council then the pool of replacements currently is minimal - what we have seen during the strike may well occur with increasing regularity through lack of drivers. By offering money which allegedly was not an original grievance the Greens appear to have shifted the bad PR away from them and onto the GMB and binmen.

 

[Eric the meek]

Computer says Piers Hopkirk reports for BBC South East which is the version of South Today that [MENTION=41643]Eric the meek[/MENTION] watched. There's another version based in, dunno, Salisbury or something. Nowhere near here anyways. Don't make me look it up meself. Tho to be fair, I've got nothing much better to do

*edit* There you go - it's the lead story (available til 7pm tonight)

South East Today, Evening News: 18/10/2021: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0010s0r via @bbciplayer

Thanks for the link.

Personally, I wouldn't have posted the link. I would have let Watford Zero keep on asking for evidence, and getting more and more suspicious each time it wasn't forthcoming.