Unite members secure an extra £750 plus all agency workers will be brought in house
The strike action was entirely avoidable if managers had taken the situation seriously from the outset.
Refuse workers employed by Tower Hamlets will have more money in their pockets after almost two weeks of strikes thanks to their union Unite.
Around 50 agency workers will also be brought in house by the end of December on full council terms and conditions.
The deal comes hot on the heels of a council wide pay deal of an extra £750 for all low paid Newham council workers. This is thanks to Unite members in refuse taking strike action.
Over 200 Tower Hamlets workers made up of refuse and street cleaners had rejected the national pay offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925. The offer amounted to a real terms pay cut.
Because councils are not legally bound to follow the local government pay increase the workers campaigned for additional pay and fairer treatment for agency staff.
Strike action began on Monday 18 September.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Council workers across east London are taking action to improve their pay and winning. The deals Unite has reached are another step forward in the battle to win better jobs, pay and conditions for local authority workers.”
A total of 23 local authorities have voted for strike action throughout the autumn.
Unite regional officer, Nick West said: “The proposed strike action inevitably caused major disruption to bin collections and street cleaning services. This was entirely avoidable if managers had taken the situation seriously from the outset.”
“Our members were determined to secure a fair pay deal so the intervention of the mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman played a part in helping to resolve this dispute.”
