City draws up plans to privatise bin service

Published on Monday 9 November 2009 08:55

PLANS are already being drawn up which could see Edinburgh's bin collections completely privatised, it emerged today.

The service is to be put through a "market test" to analyse whether the private sector can do the job better and for less money.

The move, which was only revealed in a report on the council's performance by Audit Scotland, is certain to anger the city's bin men, who have been on a work-to-rule for more than four months over pay reform proposals that they claim will lose them thousands of pounds.

&#149 Should the council proceed with a 'market test' on privatising refuse collection?

Union leaders today said that the workforce would be "thoroughly disheartened" by the news, and hit out at the council for "dragging their heels" on the bin dispute and showing little appetite to resolve it.

Stephen MacGregor, convener of Unite, the union for the city council, said: "This doesn't surprise me. There has been absolutely no appetite from the council to resolve the dispute within refuse collection and I have been saying for some time now that they are only interested in privatising this valued service.

"We have offered up using ACAS – they refused. Our members have volunteered to take part in refuse collection focus groups, but nothing has happened as 'diaries are too full'."

He said that the council has wasted money bringing in private staff to do a job its own staff were there to do, and added: "The real waste in the council comes from the top."

City leaders have consistently rejected calls to see how much it would cost for private firms to take over refuse collection duties permanently.

However, the report by Audit Scotland details a range of "risk areas" that could hit the performance of the city council. In a section on planned actions regarding refuse collection it states that "the service will be market tested in 2010-11".

Council officials had previously opened talks on what services could be delivered in different ways but the Audit Scotland report is the first indication that the council wants to look specifically at refuse collection.

Councillor Iain Whyte, leader of the Conservative group, put forward a motion at a full council meeting calling for such a move. However, his motion was defeated, with all Lib Dem and SNP councillors voting against it.

Today, Cllr Whyte said: "This is something that has to be done to see if we are getting best value."

A city council spokeswoman said: "Refuse collection is one area being considered within the alternative service delivery project."

Responding to claims that the council had "dragged its heels" on a deal for refuse workers, director of services for communities Mark Turley said: "We have proposals and have wanted to discuss these with refuse collection staff for months. If they are at last willing to talk then we will meet next week."