Pay dispute between binmen and West Lothian Council enters second week

Dec 17 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

THE pay row between West Lothian’s binmen and the council has entered its second week with no resolution to the dispute in sight.

Last week the Courier reported how a number of waste services and street cleansing workers began work to rule action after negotiations between trade union and council officials broke down.

Around 90 workers are following service standard and health and safety rules to the letter causing disruption and delay to bin collection services for people in West Lothian.

A meeting to discuss the issue is scheduled for today (Thursday) but union bosses have warned that unless a satisfactory conclusion can be found then strike action could be on the cards.

Any walkout from the workers could hit the county hard over the busy festive period with a host of bins already lying unemptied across West Lothian because they are too full (pictured).

A council insider told the Courier the local authority faces serious questions from the Equal Pay Commission if they don’t bring a small number of workers into line with other employees.

Any failure to do so could leave them open to multi-million pound pay claims from other aggrieved workers as they have a “legal obligation” to ensure their pay structure was non-discriminatory.

But union officials say the move would leave nearly 90 workers lose on average £3200 from their salaries and labelled it a “failure of management”.

GMB trade union representative John Farras said the work to rule action was having an impact on services in West Lothian.

He said: “The council are having to redeploy people from other duties to help out.

“They are also taking on temps to join the binmen but they are adhering to the same health and safety and service standard rules as our members.

“The negotiations are becoming quite a slow process but hopefully we can get things moving along for the sake of the West Lothian public.

“We don’t want them to suffer in this but at the same time we don’t want our members to suffer. Some of these guys could lose up to £60 a week, which is a massive drop in income.

“I had a mass meeting with the guys after work last week and they are all very determined.

“They are not just going to accept what the council is proposing as they are in this position because of failures of management not because of anything they have done themselves.”

And John warned other members of the GMB who work for the council could be dragged into the dispute.

“We have restricted the action to just the people affected at the moment but there is always the possibility other union members could become involved,” John said.

“There is a fear that if it happens to the binmen and some in roads then who is going to be next? There is talk about that but nothing like that has been indicated by the council at the moment.

“Strike action is always the last resort but if negotiations continue to move as slowly then it is a possibility.”

A West Lothian Council spokesman said they were seeking to minimise disruption to essential services wherever possible and would continue to make every attempt to reach agreement with the trade unions concerned through consultation and discussion.

He added: “The dispute continues and the situation is changing daily, which has caused disruption to the bin collection services. We are employing extra resources to minimise the effect of this ‘work to rule’ action, which are helping to reduce the impact on the public.”

The spokesman added that disruption to normal service is expected to continue.

Householders are asked to have their bins out at 7am on their scheduled collection day and to ensure bin lids are properly closed. Additional bags out with the bin or bins with open lids will not be lifted.

Collections may be later than normal and bins should be left out until they are emptied.

It may take several days before all householders have their bins emptied.

Blue or brown recycling bins, which contain any unacceptable materials, will not be emptied.

Householders are being urged to look out for updates in the Courier. Further updates can also be found at www.westlothian.gov.uk or by calling the council’s Customer Information Service (CIS) on 01506 775000.