The prospect of strike action by Kingston’s bin men look to have been quashed after union bosses agreed a deal with a private contractor accused of forcing through job cuts.

Waste collectors Veolia, which Kingston Council pays for fortnightly bin collections and street sweeping, has withdrawn forms handed out to 1,200 staff across the country to change their terms and conditions.

The climbdown follows crisis talks in Derby on Friday between Veolia’s chief operating officers, Tom Spaul, and officers from the GMB union.

The union had claimed that Veolia was “holding a gun to their heads" by forcing through job cuts or changes to working conditions.

Even in this compromise does not hold, Kingston Council said it was confident the borough’s refuse collection services would not be disrupted by the dispute because of a separate two-year pay deal with Veolia workers.

A spokesman said: “This is not an issue that will have any impact on service provision in Kingston. Veolia staff working on the front line in the borough, collecting recycling and landfill waste, are covered by a separate two-year pay deal.

“Let’s be absolutely clear about this: services in the borough would be unaffected by strike action.”

A spokesman for Croydon Council, one of 15 other London boroughs which also employ Veolia, said Mr Spaul had given a “personal assurance” that no Veolia employee would lose their job.