CASTLE Point’s waste and refuse workers are poised to strike in a dispute over pay as staff feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis.

GMB union says its members are ready to strike “as a last resort” if the council is unwilling to return to the negotiating table with an improved offer.

The union claims Castle Point's waste and refuse workers are the lowest paid in the whole of Essex.

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A binman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Any kind of pay cut right now is not acceptable, we are all struggling to make ends meet.

“Our job has only gotten harder, and yet we are facing losing money which is causing stress among members and staff."

Union members have rejected a council offer, which promised higher pay for drivers in a bid to address staff shortages, but is a “pay cut” for loaders, GMB says.

Loaders have been offered a £1,000 one-off payment in an offer that will see “overtime rates slashed,” which would be a net loss according to the union.

The binman added: “This is 100 per cent a pay cut, so even though they are offering a £1,000 payment, I would be losing money in the long run.

“Striking is a last resort, but it’s an alternative we are having to look at because the pay offer is unacceptable.”

In the last 10 years staff have seen a four-year pay freeze, GMB says, with pay-rises, when offered, never matching inflation.

Castle Point Council leader Dave Blackwell said: “The last course of action anybody wants is for people to go on strike.

“We value our waste disposal teams, they have been brilliant all through the pandemic and this heatwave and I have great admiration for them all.

“I am sure we can work something, as everybody is suffering under the cost-of-living crisis.”

A council spokesman said: “Discussions are taking place concerning local pay arrangements. This is in addition to the negotiations undertaken nationally regarding the annual inflation increase.”

Chair of the national employers for local government services, councillor Sian Goding, said: “Council employees have been offered a pay increase of £1,925.

“The National Employers, who negotiate pay on behalf of 350 local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, made the offer to unions on July 24."