Steve Ion, Merseyside Socialist Party
Unite members working for Biffa Waste Management, contracted by Wirral Labour council, are on strike for a week, initially.
These workers deal with refuse collection for homes and businesses, and street cleansing. They worked during the Covid pandemic and were rewarded with a pay freeze.
Well below inflation
Now they have been offered a two-year pay deal of 7-9%, which is well below RPI inflation of over 14%, plus a further erosion of terms and conditions.
Pay is normally agreed from April but the employer’s offer is from June, not backdated, which already reduces the offer. An HGV driver is only on £11.95 an hour, refuse operatives on £11.50 an hour, and street operatives on £10.76 an hour.
The pay claim is for 15%, without strings. Members say they’ve been in negotiation since January and have put counter-proposals, but the employer hasn’t met the union’s demands.
Management want to introduce a scheme called ‘day force’, which will mean workers clocking-in on their mobile phones. Management want an untested, blind agreement, but these proposals lack detail and could lead to an increase in workload.
It is also the bosses’ intention to increase the number of loads a day, from two, or two and a half, to three loads a day.
Biffa is a very wealthy company and can well afford the increase. It has just recorded 38.5% growth, with a record revenue of £1.4 billion. It is reported that the managing director has just had a £1.4 million bonus – which is 67 times the workers’ average pay increase!
The ballot return was 97.2% in favour of action, and on day one the strike was solid, with a huge turnout in support of the picket line.
Pressure on the employer, alongside pressure on the Wirral council’s controlling Labour group, needs to continue to bring a swift resolution to this dispute.
