Bin workers have confirmed they will strike in a Kent district amid an ongoing dispute over pay.

GMB Trade Union members in Thanet will walk out at the end of the month following a “resounding” vote for industrial action.

Workers said in a meeting at the beginning of the month that they “cannot survive” on their current salary.

Speaking after a union vote that saw 88.24% of members poll in favour of striking, regional organiser Garry Palmer told KentOnline some members were using foodbanks as they struggle to pay the bills.

“The meeting was unanimous - we want to press ahead,” he added.

“Workers have gone through Covid, gone through the cost-of-living crisis.

“They really value the work they do but are not getting the recognition from the council that they deserve.”

The GMB says no negotiations were entered into by Thanet District Council, so a walk out has been confirmed to start on Tuesday, May 30.

The union has a low membership among council staff, representing 59 of the authority's 543 employees.

Strikes are expected to last for two weeks, with the prospect for further action in the future.

There are warnings people elsewhere in Kent could be affected by bin strikes if wage demands are not taken seriously.

People across Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable have also been told they face a summer of unemptied bins, with GMB members being consulted on whether to push forward with three months of industrial action in May, June and July.

In the neighbouring districts of Folkestone and Dover, bin workers have already voted in favour of industrial action.

GMB regional organiser Frank Macklin said: “The council's priority of spending cash on a new hardstanding for the depot’s vehicles over staff’s pay sort of sums up what our members are up against in a time of crisis around the cost of living.

“You can only push people so far, and our members’ desire to get what they are long overdue, while hearing those at the top earning decent salaries pontificate about pay restraints and budget restrictions, have forced them up to and past a breaking point.

“On a positive of course, any walkout could be paused if we had agreement that dates for meaningful talks were in the diary and agreed.

“The GMB Union are ready, it appears ACAS would be ready, it's just Thanet council who are not interested yet.”

In a statement, Thanet District Council’s chief executive Colin Carmichael said the authority is “incredibly disappointed” with the GMB’s move.

“Thanet is one of the councils in Kent and the wider south east region that has been targeted by GMB action, which ultimately risks impacting critical public services,” he said.

“Despite ongoing attempts to meet, GMB is refusing to hold discussions with our other recognised trade union which is in breach of our collective bargaining agreement.

“There are 543 members of staff at the council. Of the 59 eligible GMB members, 34 (58%) voted, and of those, 30 (88%) voted for strike action.

“We have contingency plans in place and are doing everything we can to mitigate the impact on our residents.

“We are committed to providing our residents with essential services and our staff play a critical role in enabling us to do this. We recognise the need to support our staff and competitive pay is important for recruitment and retention.

“Some of our lowest paid workers will see rises of up to 11.56% to bring their pay in line with the market rate.

“We have already applied a market supplement to the salary of the majority of cleansing staff.

“The supplements are backdated to the beginning of April this year, and lift salaries to a level which is comparable with other organisations offering similar services.

“These market supplements will only be withdrawn after permanent changes to the pay structure have been made.

“We expect that pay will then remain at a level equivalent to, or higher than, the market supplement currently in place.

“The statements made by GMB representatives don’t reflect the reality of our commitment to our staff.

“The grievances that have been raised by cleansing staff around pay and the working environment have already been addressed.

“GMB has consistently failed to attend meetings and there doesn’t appear to be a genuine desire to resolve this matter. Our door is always open for constructive conversation and we sincerely hope that a solution can be found without the inconvenience that a strike could bring to our residents.”