Spring clean ‘does dirty’ on workforce
Street cleaners are losing out on extra cash
CITY street cleaners have spoken of their anger after learning that private contractors will be brought in to carry out work they were originally offered.
Staff were told they could earn extra cash by working 12 days of overtime on their days off in order to complete the Edinburgh Spring Clean by the end of March.
However, employees claim managers withdrew the offer two days later and found out 30 to 40 staff from the private facilities management firm Enterprise would be brought in instead.
The £500,000 Edinburgh Spring Clean initiative will see specialist equipment being used to clean up streets and rid areas of graffiti and discarded chewing gum, in two wards in the city centre and Leith areas.
The work must be carried out before an external inspection of street cleanliness takes place next month.
One council employee said: “The management put a notice up for 12 days’ overtime, which we had the option to work on our days off, but after two days they took it down and we found out Enterprise were going to be brought in.
“We actually had to find out from an agency worker rather than the management.
“The council is always on about saving money but surely it would be cheaper to pay us.”
The worker added: “The guys are thinking too much work is being handed over and the morale has really dropped because it would have boosted their wages.”
Late last year, Enterprise emerged as the preferred bidder to take over environmental services operation at the city council, but councillors voted against the move after the SNP sided with opposition parties instead of voting with the Liberal Democrats.
Another worker said: “The management team are now paying the same private contractor that councillors voted to reject, less than three months ago, to do this work.”
Union bosses at Unite demanded that private contractors must not be the “first port of call” and chosen over council employees.
Ian McDonald, regional officer at Unite, said: “I’m disappointed that our staff aren’t getting the opportunity to do the job they can do and do very well.
“They’ve been offered overtime that’s then been taken away from them, that’s taking cash away from our own employees. It’s not a very well- paid job so any extra money is welcomed. Private contractors should not be the first port of call for this council.”
Councillor Robert Aldridge, the city’s environment convener, insisted the move would lead to a better environment and pointed out the contracted staff will be temporary.
He said: “The Edinburgh Spring Clean will give us the opportunity to target some problem hot spots with extra trained staff drafted in on a temporary basis, through an existing contract.
“This money has been made available through careful financial management and will ensure that Leith and city centre residents, visitors and businesses will notice a real improvement quite quickly.”
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Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
judgedredd777
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 01:12 AMNow that the 58 City of Edinburgh Councillors have realised that the Royal Mile is a S h i t H o l e, I would honestly give each and every one of them a Broom, show them the door at the City Chambers that leads onto trash can alley and tell them to do a bit as they do J a c k S h i t for the city that they con a crust out of week in week out. Turley and SueBru could do with a brush up at the same time. Just sweep them aside into the gutter and employ new management with performance to make Edinburgh a City again.??????????????
NormaB
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 12:31 AMCan it get any worse in the SFC department talk about mis management . You promise the troops overtime then bring in the contractor that lost their bid to taken over the service .. Rub their noses in it .. That should improve their motivation but Is it a compensation payment for enterprise ? They will bring in a few untrained people off the dole who will do next to nothing .. Waste of cash .. And why is the cash being spent anyway well that's easy is a desparate bid for votes from the lib Dems and nats prior to the the elections in May .. Is that legal ? Bribing the voters Chief executive should have vetoed it .. Subru start sacking those weak links
Lachie Mhor
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 08:58 PMPrivatise the whole system. they are obviously overpaid and inept.
Mark Bishop
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 08:15 PM“The council is always on about saving money but surely it would be cheaper to pay us.” If you were doing your job properly, quickly and efficiently, the council wouldn't have had to look elsewhere. I sincerely hope that your jobs have gone to Polish people who can actually move faster than a snail with arthritis. DON'T talk to me about MORALE. You have a job. Just bloody do it or get a new one.
Turley killed my turtle !
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 05:22 PMHAHA brilliant now you street cleansing backstabbers knows what its like.Remember when you said you would back the binmen then ran off and took Turley's tuppence.Then he shafted you and now hes shafted you again.Keep sucking up boys and girls giving us a right laugh!
Afredo Garcia
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 01:01 PMJust make sure that you don't throw anythimng out that is more than seven feet long. They don't carry tape measures but the workforce are under orders to comply with elf and safety regs. Hope they have had proper training in lifting techniques.
keyser soze
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:24 PMWhat a brass neck the council's cleansing staff have. If they were doing there jobs properly in the first place, the city would not need to have a "spring clean". They are in fact lucky they are still employed and that is due to the SNP doing a u-turn regarding the privatisation of the cleansing dept.
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