Cleansing staff’s strike action vote

Cleansing services staff are being balloted about potential industrial action over proposed changes which a union says amounts to “cuts to terms and conditions”.

GMB Scotland is conducting the ballot – which concludes tomorrow – among its members in North Lanarkshire’s environmental services, including cleansing, refuse, recycling and waste control.

They are being asked to support an overtime ban and to work to rule by the union “in response to moves by the council to impose changes to pay grades, job descriptions and working time arrangements”.

North Lanarkshire officials say unions were included in a consultation about new proposals affecting workers in the recycling service, and say they are “extremely disappointed” by the union’s course of action.

GMB Scotland organiser Ude Adigwe said: “The council’s job re-evaluation plans will punish some of their lowestpaid staff at a time when they can least afford it and when services are being stretched beyond the point of sustainability.

“Our members are undervalued and overworked – it simply cannot go on like this. We cannot tolerate a state of affairs where management are cutting our members’ terms and conditions without any consultation whatsoever.

“We are prepared to sit down with management and talk about securing more sustainable rates of pay and working-time arrangements – but they must first step back from their imposition of this senseless cuts agenda.

“The re-evaluation will affect some of the lowest-paid in the council and follows years of real- terms cuts as a result of below-inflation and pay-freeze awards.”

Council officials say the dispute relates to the loss of a contractual overtime payment affecting 24 workers, and say pay grades remain unchanged.

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council said: “The Council was unaware of the intention of GMB to ballot members in our infrastructure service. We note, however, that it is a consultative ballot.

“We are extremely disappointed at this development given the consultation process which has been conducted with Unison, Unite and GMB on proposals affecting some of our recycling employees; both Unison and Unite have accepted the proposals.

“These proposals impact on 84 staff within a recycling team, 24 of whom would experience a loss with the removal of a contractual overtime payment.

“In recognition of this, the council offered a lump sum payment to mitigate the loss, projected over an 18-month period. There has been no reduction in pay grades.

“While there has been a recent re- evaluation of a small number of jobs, only one of which has some employees affected by the proposals, the re-evaluation process did not arise from these proposals. The relevant job grade remained unaffected and GMB conducted the re-evaluation jointly with the council.”