Dustmen set for £1,000 Christmas bonuses

Dustmen are to be paid bonuses of around £1,000 each for working during Christmas - even though they will be off on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

The deal, which was negotiated between Sandwell Council in the West Midlands and the men's unions, will cost the council £104,000.

The binmen are getting the money because they will be on duty over two Saturdays and a Sunday, when they do not normally work over the weekends.

Last year, they accepted an offer of £900 to work extra days after initially refusing it.

The bonuses contrast starkly with other areas.

Binmen in nearby Wolverhampton, for example, will receive normal pay and will be paid extra only if working Bank Holidays as they do throughout the rest of the year. Sandwell councillor Bill Archer questioned whether the bonuses are too much.

'There is no question that the binmen in Sandwell do a good job and work really hard,' he said.

'But it has to be said that so do a lot of people in other jobs who are often working seven-day weeks just to pay their mortgage.'