Refuse staff risking lives for lower pay
BINMEN are risking their lives on the job while their pay has fallen over the past six years, a union claims.
Staff face thousands of cases of dangerous driving a day as impatient motorists race past bin lorries on grass verges, pavements and narrow streets, a study by the GMB found
At least 12 died in the sector last year – up from eight in 2016.
And average earnings are £19,000 a year, down 9.6% from £21,030 in 2011.
The GMB’s Tim Roache said: “Refuse workers are literally risking their lives coming into work... but have seen pay plummet.
“[They] need a pay rise but alongside that they need the police, courts and public to treat them with the respect they deserve.”