Bin men set to lose £5800 a year under new contract

Published on Thursday 26 August 2010 17:51

THE council director in charge of waste disposal has warned that bin men now face losing up to £5800 a year more in wages than they would have if they had accepted a new deal offered to them.

Earlier this month Edinburgh's refuse collectors voted overwhelmingly against a new deal offered by council bosses.

Mark Turley, director of the council's services for communities department, said today that he was "disheartened" at the outcome of the ballot, where 84 per cent of those balloted voted to reject the offer.

His comments came after he revealed in a new council report that bin men now face losing far more if they want to keep their jobs.

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Refuse collectors are among 4500 council staff given 90 days' notice of dismissal in July. They were also offered a new contract on new terms and conditions, which they have until early October to sign, or lose their job.

Mr Turley revealed that the contract on offer would see a "typical loss of earnings approaching 6000 per annum".

He said the negotiated settlement that was rejected would have limited the losses to around 200 a year, with loaders likely to lose around 1600.

Mr Turley said: "I was disheartened to hear that trade union members in refuse collection rejected the final 'future state' offer. We had put forward a proposal that would have enabled us to modernise the service whilst reducing the amount of pay lost."

A meeting is due to take place between council officials and leaders of the Unite trade union "as soon as possible" to discuss what will happen next.

Councillors were also told this week of a deal that will see five firms put on stand-by to cover for waste, recycling and street cleaning services in the event of an emergency, including industrial action.

The firms can be paid up to 20 million depending on the amount they need to be used.

Councillor Ricky Henderson, Labour's finance spokesman, said he feared the secret deal, which was struck without councillor approval, could lead to "privatisation by the back door".

But Mr Turley said: "The emergency waste contract allows the council to protect against the disruption of service in an emergency.

"Separately, we have an ongoing procurement process looking at alternative business models and that includes refuse collection and a wide range of council services".