100 jobs at risk at waste firm
DOZENS of jobs are set to be axed across Greater Manchester by waste management company Viridor,.
Viridor staff have been told 100 posts may be at risk across five sites in the region, which they said works out at around half the workforce of those plants.
Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) confirmed the jobs were at risk at the company’s seven Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facilities.
These facilities use micro organisms to break down waste and the gas which is produced as a result is converted to electricity.
The company admit there are ‘technical challenges’ at the MBT sites and will begin a formal consultation in January.
The news comes after Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority cancelled its £3 billion 25-year contract with the Viridor Laing consortium 17 years early.
It was one of the UK’s largest private finance initiative deals, and was expected to bring thousands of jobs to the region at new and refurbished waste-processing plants.
A spokesperson for GMWDA added: “We can confirm we have started our dialogue with Viridor Waste (Greater Manchester) Ltd (VWGM) regarding operational changes to be delivered during the interim contract period up until the start of new contracts.
“For GMWDA to realise further required savings and to address the technical and operational challenges some changes need to be made to the current operational facilities.
“These will focus on the Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facilities with Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and improving recycling levels at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC). Both will be implemented in next 18 months.
“We believe that potentially around 100 roles would be affected by these changes, and we are committed to working with Viridor and the Trades Unions on implementing polices that aim to reduce the impact on existing staffing members as much as possible.
“Redeployment and voluntary redundancy policies and options will be fully deployed.”
A spokesperson for Viridor said: “Viridor can confirm that discussions have begun with the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) concerning operational facilities.
“These discussions centre around the current Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facilities with Anaerobic Digestion (AD), as the GMWDA has advised this is where it will predominately focus its efforts in order to achieve financial savings and to address technical challenges.
“Briefing sessions have been held with trade union representatives and core staff operating these facilities. Staff will be kept informed and supported throughout.
“A formal consultation process will begin in early 2018.”