Binmen and street cleaners in Brighton and Hove today held a mass meeting and pledged to fight any redundancies or changes in their terms and conditions.
The gathering at the Hollingdean waste depot followed the naming of Serviceteam as the contractor preferred to take over from Sita, which was sacked by Brighton and Hove City Council after a turbulent 20 months.
The meeting, organised by the GMB union, was attended by almost 200 binmen and street cleaners still employed by Sita, which will continue to run refuse services until mid-October.
Sussex shop stewards will meet colleagues in areas where Serviceteam has contracts across the country to exchange information.
Today's meeting, held before crews left the depot, did not affect services.
The GMB is angry that it was not consulted over the awarding of the contract to Serviceteam.
But Brighton and Hove City Council said the unions could not have been in on the talks with possible new contractors on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.
Gary Smith, a GMB official, said: "We are considering a legal challenge into the way the contract was consulted. There is anger at the lack of consultation.
"We are seeking assurances there will be no job losses or changes in terms and conditions. We are particularly worried about guarantees about pensions."
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