THE leader of Brighton and Hove City Council agreed to meet bin drivers as three days of strike action came to a close.

Union bosses announced that Councillor Jason Kitcat would meet the striking HGV drivers at their Hollingdean depot today. Coun Kitcat’s office said he would be there to listen to the drivers’ grievances but not to negotiate.

The dispute has been ongoing since September and some residents have reported only having one bin collection in eight weeks.

Last week, the GMB tweeted Mr Kitcat asking for a meeting and, after sending a letter, he has agreed. Mark Turner, GMB branch secretary, said he wanted the council leader to hear the staff’s problems first hand.

He said: “We have not sat in on any briefings with him to give our side of the story and our invite is with the stipulation he hears what the drivers have to say without any management or officers present.”

The union invite for other councillors to meet with their members remains open.

The strike is part of an ongoing dispute in which 38 lorry drivers want their job descriptions revised to reflect the qualifications they now require following changes to the service in 2009.

The dispute began when six street cleaners were put on the same pay grade.

No official dates for further talks have been set but Mr Turner said the union’s door was always open.

He said: “The main stumbling block is the time-frame. The council just need to take the extra inch.

“We are not asking them to break the law, we are asking them to do what they morally and procedurally should be doing.

“The issue now is while the council has agreed to relook at job descriptions, they set a timetable but our members believe it is too long. They are talking about 12 to 16 weeks, when in other departments it takes four weeks.”

He added that claims from the council that revisions of pay grades would go against equal pay laws were a “red herring”.

Mr Turner said the movement in pay grades should result from the council “recognising” the type of work the drivers are already doing and the evaluation of job descriptions may even lead to “extra responsibility”.

Industrial action has been live since September 12, with work to rule still ongoing in which bin lorry drivers refuse to work overtime.

Conservative councillor Graham Cox, the first councillor to meet with the drivers, urged the union to call off the strike.

He said: “I am not sure that even if this issue was solved overnight we would get to the stage we have a high-quality refuse service. A fundamental reform is required.”

Councillor Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour and Co-Operative Group, said: “Our view on this has been consistent. We want residents to get the refuse and recycling service they need.

“We want an immediate end to the current action and a negotiated settlement now.”