‘Almost a week behind’ - South Tyneside Council's frustration at GMB over waste backlog

Bosses at South Tyneside Council have expressed their frustration at the GMB union as the local authority continues to deal with a backlog of bin collections.

The Council has stated that it is working hard to avoid a build-up of waste caused by delays to bin collections, including some rounds being missed completely.

It follows an agreement with the GMB union at the start of May to pause industrial action to provide a period of respite and stability within the borough.

The period also aimed to support the delivery of an action plan in line with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) - which was approved and signed by both South Tyneside Council and the GMB.

This agreement meant that all industrial action, including action short of strike, described by GMB as ‘work to rule/safely’, would be stood down and the workforce would return to “normal and established working practices” from May 7.

Now South Tyneside Council is raising concerns about the degree in which the workforce is complying with the MOU - something it says it has raised with the GMB.

Stuart Wright, director of Place and Communities, said: “The MOU provided a clear commitment about how both parties intended to move forward to resolve matters.

“It was agreed that the workforce would return to ‘normal and established working practices’ from 7th May.

“Currently, crews are only completing around 55 per cent of their weekly rounds, meaning they are almost a week behind because they are not working as normal, despite a commitment to do so and in direct contravention of the MOU.

Read more: ‘There is no bullying’ - South Tyneside bin strike insider hits out at the GMB union

“We have asked the GMB to be clear with their members precisely what is expected of them.

“We appreciate that so much of our dialogue and negotiations have been via the GMB and not with the workforce direct, but unfortunately, we have had no response from the GMB.

“We’re also concerned that progress is being hampered by the refusal of some union members to participate in ongoing dialogue.

“The degree to which progress can be made in areas such as re-balancing bin rounds is limited if union members refuse to participate in the necessary dialogue, as it is essential that we hear from the staff and work with them to make the improvements they require. 

“Our waste operatives are valued employees, and the action plan aims to better support them in their roles.

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“It is vital that all parties engage in the process so that we can work constructively to deliver the plan and resume a full service for our residents.”

Currently, waste collection operatives are working on a rolling programme of collections from Tuesday to Fridays, with crews picking up from where they left off each working day.

South Tyneside residents are being asked to present all bins for collection and leave them out until one is collected.

Temporary waste drop-off sites have also been reinstated across the borough to help clear the backlog, with the skips in place again from Saturday, June 1, to Monday, June 3 (inclusive), at locations across South Tyneside.

Stuart Wright also expressed that the local authority has stressed the issues that residents are facing to the GMB in the hopes of getting services “back on track”.

He added: “We continue to explore all options to clear the backlog and get the service back on track.

“We recognise that our residents are completely fed up and frustrated and we thank them for their ongoing patience. For many residents, disposal of household waste is their number one priority Council service, and we acknowledge wholeheartedly that the service they are currently receiving is well below that which they should expect.

“We have stressed to the GMB the need for them to work with the crews and the council to get the service back on track for our residents.”

The GMB union has told the Shields Gazette that there has been no communication from the local authority relating to waste collection backlogs.

A GMB spokesperson commented: “At no time has South Tyneside Council raised any concerns with me regarding the backlog that currently exists within the service.

“The industrial action has now been paused and only three days of action have taken place since April 5th, so the Council have had plenty of time to  catch up on whatever work needed doing.

“Overtime isn’t compulsory and members are free to work if they want to, however they do continue to work in a safe and orderly fashion.

“The Council have had almost eight weeks to organise the work to be back to normal and clearly haven’t been able to do so, it’s sadly typical that they are seeking to blame someone else for their own incompetency.”