Households in Harrow could go without bin collection following a dispute between the council and a trade union.
Members of Harrow Unison held an indicative ballot on Wednesday, in which 100 per cent of its members backed calls that their staff have been under appreciated and underpaid following the restructuring process that Harrow Council have recently carried out throughout the environmental services department.
As roles were reassessed during this process, union bosses have come up with a figure of £18,000 which they feel they are owed in backpay.
Gary Martin of Harrow Unison told Get West London: "Many of our members are receiving working tax credits, housing benefits and are applying for free school meals.
"These are good, hard working people who should not have to put up with this. And then if you look at the council's management staff and how they are paid, there is no way you can match the two.
"We have requested that they come back to negotiating table, but when they did they came back with a blank piece of paper. They have not sought to negotiate with us seriously."
Now an indicative ballot has gone ahead, union members will partake in a postal vote which could prompt formal action leaving 89,000 households without bin collection.
Councillor Susan Hall, Conservative leader of Harrow Council said: “The claim for an extra £18,000 per driver is baseless and this threatened strike is needless. The council has made every effort to meet union concerns and we remain open for talks.
“It is important to remember this is not about protecting jobs - our drivers are already among the best paid in London. This strike will mean nothing but grief to our residents, many of whom might be grateful for a job that pays as well as the rates our drivers receive."
Alongside the households that could be left without bin collection services if a strike does go ahead, 500 businesses and 300 regular clinical waste collections would also be left wanting.
Ms Hall added: "“We are working on emergency arrangements to try and avoid the prospect of rubbish bags piling up on the streets of Harrow.
"In the meantime my appeal to the moderate hard-working majority of staff at the central depot is: don't be pushed into a manufactured dispute by people who don’t have your real interests at heart.”
Harrow Unison told Get West London that the figure of £18,000 is an illustration of what they feel they could be owed, but not a straightforward demand.
