Backed by Unite the Union, workers are enforcing an overtime ban over a pay dispute with the company.
The overtime ban means that they will only work within their contracted hours, and has been ongoing since Saturday (2 January).
This means that some collections, which were scheduled to take place outside of normal contracted hours, having been rescheduled over the Christmas break, have been unable to go ahead.
Recycling and food waste collections for some areas of the district were originally scheduled for 4 January but were not carried out and the council is recommending that these residents now present the material for collection on 11 January 2016.
Residents whose collections were postponed from Saturday and moved to yesterday, but were not carried out, have been told that these will go ahead today.
Overtime ban
Alex Flynn, a spokesman for Unite the Union, said that they had been working with Kier on the action plan and that the “issue is over pay” – although could not offer further details of the dispute. He added that it is unknown how much longer the overtime ban will continue.
A spokesperson for Kier told letsrecycle.com said: “Whilst its disappointing that Unite has balloted their members for industrial action whilst meaningful negotiation is still ongoing, we are encouraged that they appear committed to continue discussions and we hope that we can reach a resolution as soon as possible. We are working hard during this time to ensure minimal disruption of service delivery for local residents.”
Response
Bath and Northeast Somerset council has been offering regular updates to residents on the ongoing situation, including when rescheduled collections are set to take place.
In a statement, the council said: “We have been advised that there is still ongoing industrial action by staff working for our recycling contractor Kier, in the form of an overtime ban. As a result of this, if you were due to have your recycling collected on Tuesday 5 January (including those re-scheduled from Saturday 2 January) there may be some disruption to your recycling and food waste collections.”
The local authority added: “On behalf of our contractor we apologise sincerely for any inconvenience caused.”
The council is also urging residents to use civic amenity sites at Keynsham, Old Welton and Bath, where they can deposit materials that could not be collected as part of the kerbside service.
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