A Veolia spokesperson told letsrecycle.com that they were “disappointed” with the latest development.
They continued: “Veolia made it clear from the beginning that we would be supportive of joint recognition if it is agreed by both Unite and GMB.
“Having proposed a number of possible solutions without achieving a resolution, Veolia offered Unite a carve out agreement for recognition last week. We have a rich history of working with our trade union partners and recognise Unite widely across our contracts.”
Campaigners were invited to meet senior French politicians yesterday (21 November 2024) in response to the protests – which Unite said are due to “union busting”.
The politicians included Nadège Abomangoli, vice president of the French National Assembly, and her fellow National Assembly member Gabriel Amar.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Veolia is making a huge mistake if it thinks Unite and our members will just disappear quietly. Instead, we are going to turn up the volume and target Veolia in all its operations.”
The trade union said it now plans to stage protests at the headquarters of major shareholders in Veolia in France, including Amundi Asset Management, Black Rock, BNP Paribas, Natixis and Invesco.
Why is Unite protesting?
Unite members said they are pressing for recognition of Unite for collective bargaining purposes at Veolia’s site in Sheffield.
Veolia said that its existing recognition agreement with trade union GMB means Veolia is unable to enter into joint recognition with Unite unless agreed by the GMB. Veolia has worked with GMB at the site for 20 years.
Unite acknowledged that Veolia has made verbal concessions on recognition but called on the company “to finalise the recognition agreement as soon as possible”.
The trade union has also called for the “immediate reinstatement” of four staff members.
Unite claimed that the workers were fired due to their involvement in the industrial action.
The Veolia spokesperson continued: “[We] invited Unite to review the three dismissals and one resignation on the contract and arranged for an independent appeal process to be conducted.
“The appeal process found that the dismissals were not related to trade union membership or industrial action but were instead an escalation of prior warnings and sanctions, including serious matters of health and safety and deliberate disruption to our residents in Sheffield.
“The dismissals were upheld by the independent appeal process. Veolia also agreed to reinstate the member that resigned.”
Background on the industrial action
Refuse workers from Veolia’s Lumley Street depot in Sheffield have been partaking in continuous strike action since 20 August 2024 in protest of Veolia’s alleged refusal to sign a recognition agreement with Unite to give the trade union leverage for bargaining over pay, conditions and health and safety.
Unite has said that this is despite the trade union representing significant numbers at the depot and having other recognition agreements with Veolia in other depots around the country.
Veolia said that there are presently 38 Unite members on strike from Lumley depot out of 64 Unite members at the depot in total. The trade union currently represents 47% of the workforce at Lumley and 39% of the overall workforce for Veolia’s contract.
Register for free to comment