Serco workers say morale is at an all-time low as it was revealed staff will be monitored by 360-degree cameras installed on bin lorries.

News of the surveillance was revealed at a committee meeting in which Canterbury councillors voted to give an extra £140,000 a year to the waste contractor, which has recently come under fire after missed bin collections hit a five-year high.

“It is definitely an invasion of privacy,” said one Serco employee, who works on the vehicles and has asked to remain anonymous.

“You may as well have your boss next to you, watching you all day. It feels to me like they’re trying to use the cameras to look good to the public.”

The cameras will be fixed to the outside of trucks and, while monitoring staff, will also be used to resolve public complaints, disputes about missed collections and track vehicle movements.

Footage will be downloaded and not monitored in real-time.

Mark Hammond, regional organiser for Unison - the public service trade union that covers Serco workers - admits there have been recent issues with morale among employees in the district.

“One of the many things that staff say is that there aren’t enough resources,” he said.

“They need more wagons, and more workers to man those wagons.

“The company is seeking to rearrange things to make things better for staff, as well. But there is a resourcing issue.”

"You may as well have your boss next to you, watching you all day" - Serco employee

At the latest meeting, the city council’s director of commissioned services, David Ford, said: “In-cab and vehicle technologies would be used to monitor and improve driver behaviours.

“The system has been shown to be a positive contributor at other sites improving driver and loader behaviours, support in vehicle accident reporting, and resolution of any disputes of non-collection of waste from the public.”

Cllr Stephen Bartley (Con) said he worries that installing cameras could mean “passing the buck” to Serco’s waste collectors at a time the firm is having problems maintaining its lorries and technology.

“While they’re having this trouble they’re installing new technology in the form of cameras to keep an eye on their staff,” he said.

David Austin, Serco’s contract manager for Canterbury, spoke in defence of the proposal.

“Serco is committed to working with our employees and unions to ensure we are able to deliver improvements in the service that we deliver for Canterbury City Council and local residents,” he said.

“The use of exterior cameras on waste vehicles is common practice across the industry and provides an accurate record of any incident, which is of benefit for both our employees and local residents.”