Cumberland Council are aware that Trade Unions are in dispute with Allerdale Waste Services over pay and are working with the Service to minimise the impact this could have on residents and businesses in the area.
Allerdale Waste Services is a wholly owned trading company of Cumberland Council (formerly Allerdale Borough Council) and provide waste collection services for the authority. Their workforce is therefore directly employed by Allerdale Waste Services.
From 1 April 2023, employees from Allerdale Waste Services were awarded a 10.1% pay rise which is based on the Foundation Living Wage (a higher rate than the National Living Wage). This represents a Loaders rate of pay having increased by 21.1% and a Drivers rate of pay having increased by 23.9% since Allerdale Waste Services took over the waste contract in 2020.
Trade Unions have since balloted their members for strike action based on demands which would see up to 32.6% increase, which is unaffordable for Allerdale Waste Services.
Employees in Allerdale Waste Services are salaried, and their rates of pay are either comparable with or more than the annual salaries of the other waste services in the Cumberland area. As well as not being affordable, a 32.6% pay increase would create significant disharmony in other service areas.
A Cumberland Council spokesperson said: “We are working with Allerdale Waste Services who are in dialogue with the trade union representatives on the proposed strike action. Our officers are looking at a number of different options to minimise the impact that this disruption could have on Cumberland residents and businesses. We will provide more updates in due course.”