‘Fear for our jobs’ - GMB members reveal working conditions in South Tyneside Council's Waste Department

Two refuse workers from South Tyneside Council’s Waste Department have spoken out against their employer over the handling of issues relating to the ongoing industrial action.

The industrial dispute relates to claims made by the workforce about “bullying and a toxic work culture” caused by the department’s management team.

An independent report into claims was carried out - with South Tyneside Council confirming in March that the investigation found “no evidence of bullying or harassment”.

Read more: GMB warns of an indefinite South Tyneside bin strike following workforce suspensions

In May, the Shields Gazette was contacted by one worker who hit out at the union and stated that there was no bullying going on.

Now two refuse workers, who are members of the GMB, have given their side of the story and revealed what it is like to currently work inside the Council’s Waste Department.

Both worker’s identities have been kept anonymous to ensure there are no repercussions from their employer.

One worker commented: “The feeling of getting up on a morning and going to work is just horrible.

“You could be having a good week and then a manager wants to speak to you - instantly you’re thinking about all the reasons why.

“It feels like we are constantly walking on egg shells and it shouldn’t have to be like that.

“Every person on that workforce is now fearing for their jobs, especially with all the suspensions at the moment.

“It seems like some members of staff can get away with everything and then others can’t do anything without getting pulled by management.

“There is just so many inconsistencies across the board - around 75% of the workforce have faced or are waiting to face disciplinary action.

“We’ve got families to feed and now there is a constant worry that the Council are going to give us all a 90-day notice on our jobs.”

South Tyneside Council has stated that the crews are only completing around 55% of their weekly rounds because they are not “working as normal”.

The refuse workers have claimed that this is a lie and they are actually working within their health and safety remit for their jobs.

They said: “The Council say that we are ‘working to rule’, we aren’t working to rule, we are working to the correct health and safety procedures.

“They’ve added on things like trade work to our rounds and made them way too big.

“If it wasn’t for years of us putting two bins on at a time, which we shouldn’t have been doing in the first place, then the streets would have been full of bins like they are now.

“So when we’re being accused of working short of action, we aren’t, we are just working to how we have been trained.”

Read more: ‘Completely untenable’ - South Tyneside Council calls on GMB to withdraw ‘misleading’ indefinite strike ballot

The workers also moved to reassure residents in South Tyneside that they will happily get the backlog of bin collections cleared if the Council act on the issues that they have raised.

They added: “We don’t actually want to see the management team sacked, we just want them relocated to another department within the Council.

“We want the residents of South Tyneside to know that the workforce is very much prepared to clear the backlog if things are improved for us at work.

“It is the job of a council to deliver a service and we very much want to do that, we’ve told the Council that we’ll even work weekends to catch up.

“But that won’t happen until things are started afresh, if that doesn’t happen then come three or four weeks time, we will be back out on strike.

“Bring in new management, sort the size of the rounds out and this will all end.”

South Tyneside Council has refuted claims that 75% of the workforce have received or are waiting to receive disciplinary action.

The local authority states that between May 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, only 3% of the workforce had received a formal warning - with only 1.5% of the workforce currently having a live formal warning.

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said: “Our waste operatives are valued members of the Council.

“We only take disciplinary action as a last resort in line with HR procedures when there is no other option. Anything regarding health and safety concerns cannot be ignored.

“We have been working closely with the workforce over recent weeks to deliver the detailed Action Plan agreed with Trade Unions and in line with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was approved and signed by both the Council and GMB. 

“The action plan includes a full route optimisation of the bin rounds, renewal and upgrading of equipment and putting stronger engagement, communication and behaviour protocols in place.

“The rebalancing of the rounds was a fundamental ask of the crews.

“The Council is working hard to address this at pace and continues to encourage staff to engage in this process in the spirit of the Action Plan and MOU. 

“An investigation into a collective grievance submitted by the crews in June 2023 has concluded with the confidential findings shared with all parties in January 2024.

“The findings were not challenged. No appeal was pursued. It is important to note that industrial action continued despite no evidence of bullying and harassment by management. 

“We appreciate that this is a frustrating and challenging period for all those involved.

“We want to reassure all parties that we are doing everything we can to resolve issues, to get back to providing a vital service for our residents, and we look to GMB and the workforce to do the same.”