THE BRIGHTON bin strike is officially over.
Brighton and Hove City Council policy and resources committee voted to pass a deal on Tuesday evening.
It comes after members of the GMB union agreed to an offer, which was put forward by council on Monday.
The council said the offer included a “significant and generous pay offer” which would raise wages for some of its lowest paid workers, as well as the Cityclean service.
The agreement was voted through at the council meeting on Tuesday, ending the strike.
The details of the agreement will remain private for the time being.
Prior to the meeting, Branch secretary Mark Turner said the strike has always been about “respect for the difficult job our members do in the city”.
“The disruption has been difficult for the residents of Brighton and Hove, and to be clear it was always our last resort,” he said.
“But the council had for too long either ignored or delayed the issues and in seeking to meaningfully get around the table to resolve matters, the strike was always intended to simply focus their attention.”
The Brighton bin strike is officially over
A ballot by the GMB union showed that 100 per cent of the members who voted were in favour of the walk out, which began on Tuesday, October 5.
As a result, Brighton’s Cityclean, recycling, commercial waste and HGV drivers went on strike for two weeks.
The strike was triggered by a dispute over pay and working conditions.
Labour said their councillors are pleased that a deal has been struck to end the strike despite the Green administration’s “bungled” approach.
Labour co-leaders of the opposition councillor Carmen Appich and councillor John Allcock issued a statement saying: “Residents have suffered unnecessarily for over two weeks now when this whole debacle could have been avoided.
“Labour had put in place plans to improve industrial relations that were not followed by the council, and today we raised questions about the poor handling of the situation from the start. Serious lessons need to be learned.”
However, Labour welcomed the terms of the deal to resolve the dispute, celebrating a pay rise for some of the lowest paid workers in the council, and for HGV drivers.
Cllr Appich and Cllr Allcock added: “Pay will increase for the local key workers who are out to collect our bins in all weathers, as well as for HGV drivers, which will give the Council a greater chance of retaining these essential workers who are in high demand and short supply following Brexit.”
Bin workers had been due to start a new five-week walk-out on Thursday if the deal with Brighton and Hove City Council had not reached.
A council spokesman said: "We apologise to residents, business and visitors to the city for the disruption during the last few weeks and thank you for your patience."
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