Council’s bin workers owed 5 YEARS of hols CLAIM BY UNION AS DISPUTE INTENSIFIES AS STRIKE LOOMS

Maud were “marched off the premises” when they tried to meet members at the Dewsbury bins depot.

Kirklees Council has responded to the latter allegation by saying: “We will always endeavour to permit union meetings on our premises and we have an agreed protocol in place.”

Unison has long accused Kirklees of blaming bin collection workers for its own problems.

It has said policies on bullying have been broken and due process for dealing with unions has been breached.

In a new set of allegations Unison now says one manager gave out 13 verbal warnings to bin teams who were sitting in their wagons, without following the proper procedure.

The union’s newsletter says: “The abuse has been going on for a couple of years now.

“Management treat the bin depots as their own personal fiefdom where council policies, particularly the ‘Dignity at Work’ policy, do not apply.”

It goes on to say “harassment is rife” and “respect is not available”, saying management continue to blame the dispute on “bin workers culture.”

“The only culture that needs addressing is that of a bullying management,” claims the author.

Karl Battersby, Kirklees Council’s Strategic Director for Economy and Infrastructure, said: “The council will not tolerate bullying or harassment and take allegations of this nature very seriously.

“Any allegations are dealt with through the relevant council procedures.

“We are aware of the concerns raised by some of our employees and, as a result, we have commissioned a review of the cleansing service to make sure we can continue to deliver the best services for our residents.

“There are a number of ongoing issues and we make sure that we brief all unions.

“We are working closely with union representatives to make sure that all concerns are addressed as part of this review.

“We have extended the review and given unions and staff a further two weeks to raise any further issues for investigation.

“This is to ensure that all issues are fully investigated and dealt with.

“It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases and they will be dealt with as part of the ongoing investigation.

“The council is reviewing leave arrangements in consultation with the unions as part of the review of the cleansing service and we are aware that there are a number of individuals with significant outstanding leave.”

There has long been a divide between workers and management in the department which stemmed from changes introduced in 2015 for collections over 38 hours in four days – Monday to Thursday.

Fridays are set aside to finish rounds and carry out maintenance, but the days are said to be busier because the rounds are unachievable in four days.

The dispute came to a head with a ‘wildcat strike’ last November which saw 4,000 bins go uncollected.

Just days before Christmas three refuse collectors were suspended for allegedly not clocking off at the depot.

The result of the strike ballot is expected on Tuesday, May 8 – the week after local elections.

Any action would take place in late May or early June.