A COUNCIL is urging binmen to abandon strike action that is set to cause "misery for residents".

Refuse workers in Adur and Worthing have been urged to call off the two-week strike and accept a "good pay" offer.

Two weeks ago, members of the GMB union announced they would go on strike for two weeks, beginning today.

An Adur and Worthing Councils spokesman said: “From today, Adur and Worthing residents will suffer because of a decision by the GMB which we believe to be completely unjustified.

“The pay rises we have negotiated with staff and UNISON are a good deal for our workers but the GMB appears to want nothing to do with them because it wasn’t involved in the negotiations. The GMB continues to claim that we are ignoring it but this could not be further from the truth.

“The offer on the table, already accepted by most staff, is better than one negotiated and accepted by the GMB recently at another local authority. It might seem that the strike action is about the GMB trying to push UNISON out of the service - not about getting a good deal for its members - and we hope that common sense can still prevail.”

In October last year Adur and Worthing Councils commenced an internal review into the pay of 109 members of staff in its refuse, recycling and cleansing department.

Now, as a result of the review, 65 members of staff have been moved up a grade and a further 40 who are required to drive HGVs regularly as part of their role will get a permanent annual £2,700 specialist skills supplement.

Four more will get both the annual specialist skills supplement and be moved up a grade.

Each member of staff who has been regraded moved to their new band with a pay rise on March 2.

The Argus:

They will get further pay rises on September 1 this year and then on April 1, 2023 - worth a total of at least six per cent - as well as the national pay rise of 1.75 per cent.

HGV drivers will get an immediate pay rise of at least 11 per cent in the form of the specialist skills supplement, as well as the national backdated 1.75 per cent pay rise - an overall increase of at least 12.77 per cent.

Despite the offer of a big pay rise from the council, GMB bosses say it was not negotiated with them and so the action will go ahead as planned.

Gary Palmer, a regional organiser for the union, said: "It has to be formal talks, a formal offer, a formal acceptance and a formal ending to the strike.

"Until they can do those - the strike is on."