Garbage truck drivers and Suez strike a deal, putting an end to threat of further action

Drivers voted to accept a 10.2 per cent pay rise from the ACT government contractor over the next three years despite it being less than the 12 per cent they have been fighting for.

Although the dispute is not officially finalised, the in-principle agreement means drivers will not walk off the job again, after three weeks of strikes left thousands of household bins kerbside.

Suez increased its offer from 8.3 per cent in a meeting with the Transport Workers Union on Monday.

Drivers have received a 3.4 per cent pay rise each of the last four years, with the latest deal the equivalent of that across the three-year total.

The workers and employer have been at a stalemate for months over pay negotiations after Suez said a 12 per cent increase was "unreasonable" due to the economic fallout of the pandemic. T

The TWU argued the company receives the same revenue from its multi-million dollar contract with the ACT government regardless of coronavirus.