Bin men fail in their bid to overturn pay dock decision

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 08:40

MORE than 20 bin men in the Capital have failed in a bid to overturn the city council's decision to dock their pay for not doing enough work.

Council managers docked the pay of around 38 staff after accusing them of 'partial performance' during their official work-to-rule.

The council agreed to pay back the money docked from the wages of around a dozen staff but the remainder have not been repaid.

They took the fight to the council's internal personnel appeals committee, which consists of a cross-party group of councillors, in an attempt to overturn the council's decision, but the committee has backed the council in a move which has angered those who support the bin men in their current dispute.

Michael Edwards, a member of the Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty (ECAP), which has campaigned on behalf of all the workers involved in the current work-to-rule, said: "We think it is a disgraceful decision. It was completely unjust and illegal for the workers to have their wages docked for so-called partial performance. They were only following the health and safety rules set out by management themselves.

"Other workers were signed off sick by their GP with a medical certificate yet the council felt it was in a position to not take the doctor's advice."

ECAP is now planning further action in support of the men.

It blockaded vehicles used by private contractors in a week of action in late September.

Meanwhile, it is understood that focus groups of street cleaners and other services for communities staff, but not including bin men, were held at the city's Powderhall yesterday.

However, Mr Edwards insists that the workers are no nearer an agreement and still have concerns that they will lose thousands of pounds.

It is not known whether the bin men who lost the case at the personnel appeals committee will try to take their case further.

A spokeswoman for the city council confirmed that "the personnel appeals committee voted in favour of the council" but was not willing to discuss the private meeting further.

The committee consisted of nine councillors: two Liberal Democrats, two SNP, two Labour, two Conservative and one Green.

Mark Turley, the council's director for services for communities, set out the council's position in the meeting, while Unite convener Stephen MacGregor spoke on behalf of the bin men.

In an interview with the Evening News today Mr Turley branded the dispute "futile" and said: "I would prefer to modernise the service and keep it in-house as previously, but if the workforce are as uncooperative as they've been so far and if we are inefficient, then we have to look at our customers and their demand for value for money."

Nobody at trade union Unite could be contacted today to comment on the decision.