There's nothing like tea breaks to cause a good old-fashioned industrial dispute and so it has proved with dustmen in Brighton and Hove.

While some refuse collectors were being paid £10 a week extra to have cuppas on the road rather than in the depot, other staff did not receive the bonus.

The thirsty workers didn't see why their colleagues should be paid extra money.

It was being given to the Rottingdean and Saltdean binmen because they were operating furthest from the depot.

The arrangement was agreed by Sita, the firm which ran the waste collection contract until the city council took it over in October last year.

The discovery of this quaint little practice almost 11 months into the new contract shows how hard it has been to deal with the problem of pay and conditions.

Some of the quirks date from the days when Brighton and Hove were run separately and others from the time of private operators.

Now the council has got rid of the payment as part of its move to equalise pay and conditions for the staff.

Generally the council has done a good job with waste and, despite problems caused by equalising the rounds, the service is much better than in the past.

The system has become far more efficient and council taxpayers are starting to get real value for money.

Let's hope this little spat remains simply a storm in a teacup.