'Constructive way forward' - Council and unions hold talks to end South Tyneside bin strikes

South Tyneside Council, GMB and Unite unions have all confirmed that “positive” discussions have resulted in an action plan to try and bring an end to ongoing bin strikes.

Staff in the Council’s Waste Department have been taking industrial action for the last six months, which has been having a major impact on waste collection in the borough.

The local authority and trade unions met last week with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in an attempt to resolve the issues surrounding the industrial action.

South Tyneside Council has stated that it has made a concerted effort to resolve the dispute through extensive engagement with teams, listening and acting upon concerns, including spending time out on the rounds with some crews, talking directly to them about the rebalancing of the rounds and hearing first hand some of the day-to-day challenges they face in delivering the service.

A Council spokesperson commented: “Whilst this has been a lengthy and protracted process, we are pleased that the workforce brought these matters forward. We have gone to great lengths to engage with and listen to their concerns and to address them.

"The action plan gives all parties a constructive way forward and we will now press ahead to deliver it.

"Everyone is on board to bring about the improvements to the service and working conditions that the workforce has asked for, and we will maintain vigilant oversight of the service to maintain the right level of challenge and support.

“We are hopeful that we can now work with a period of stability, which would lead to us bringing about an end to the dispute.

"Of course, we acknowledge and understand the disruption the industrial action has caused, and we thank everyone for their patience during what has been a challenging period for the Borough."

The detailed action plan following the ACAS meeting has been coproduced and agreed by the trade unions and the workforce.

A joint statement from GMB and Unite said: “Engagement between the workforce, the Council's Leadership and officers has been positive with a number of issues being addressed so far.

"We entered into ACAS conciliation with the shared ambition to resolve outstanding issues and we are glad that we have been able to do just that with a clear plan that gives us the foundations to move forward positively.

"We are hopeful that, through working differently with the Council, we will be in a position to bring industrial action to an end following a period of stability, engagement, and investment in the service."

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As well as the ongoing talks, South Tyneside Council has invited a Local Government Association/Association for Public Service Excellence (LGA/APSE) Peer Review team in to evaluate the Waste Services.

The peer review was not a “formal” inspection but rather a constructive exercise to complement the ongoing dialogue in an effort to gain a full understanding for all parties on how other councils operate and share best practices.

The local authority has stated that the peer team found a committed workforce across all areas of the service and noted a clear commitment from all parties to move forward from the industrial action.

Feedback from the LGA/APSE Peer Review has been shared with all impacted parties and a full report is set to be published in due course.

Waste operatives in South Tyneside are due to restart a rolling programme of collections when they return to work next week, from Tuesday, April 9.

Residents are advised to present all bins and leave them out until one is collected - this includes green waste bins for those subscribed to the garden waste service.

Temporary waste drop-off points will be in place across South Tyneside this weekend (Friday, April 5, to Sunday, April 7) to help ease the impact caused by the industrial action.