RHS Chelsea Flower Show to face disruption due to strike action
100% of GMB members working for NSL Ltd, the parking enforcement contractor in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), have voted in favour of strike action. The massive turnout of 93% shows how serious GMB members at NSL Ltd (RBKC) are with their demand for better pay.
After months of negotiation and the rejection of NSL’s final pay offer, GMB members feel they have no other option but to take strike action. Dates have been set for 6 days of continuous strike action, from 22nd May to 27th May. This includes the dates the Chelsea Flower Show is set to run - the popular annual horticultural event held in the borough.
John Weir, GMB London Region Organiser said:
“Both NSL Ltd and RBKC profit massively off the backs of these enforcement officers. RBKC has made an average of £20 million in revenue per year over the last few years from parking enforcement. GMB believes that RBKC and the council’s contractor NSL Ltd, part of the Marston Holdings Group, can afford to offer a serious pay rise for our members.
“Our members are understandably angry that whilst they are struggling and facing financial pressures those with the power to make a difference are not doing anything. This vote for industrial action shows just how strongly our members feel and how they will continue to fight for a fair and decent pay rise”
“NSL has run the parking enforcement contract in Kensington and Chelsea for more than a decade, and has always paid its staff as little as it could get away with. Now, after a year of increasing costs, GMB members at NSL in RBKC are no longer willing to put up with the situation, their message to their employer is NSL will reap what it has sown.”
The strikes mean that the council stands to face a loss in revenue of up to £50,000 for every day of strike action. GMB London Region calls on NSL and RBKC to make a real pay offer that is worth GMB members considering.
For more information please contact John Weir, GMB London Region Organiser on 078 1354 2070.
GMB London - Traffic wardens in Kensington and Chelsea begin ballot on strike action
