Liverpool Waste Management and Related Services, which will be wholly owned by Liverpool city council, will perform waste collections and street cleansing services in the city from November 2015.
At a mass meeting on August 11, union members who collect refuse in the city agreed to sign up in principle to an enabling agreement – outlining the broad terms and conditions of an agreement between the council, trade unions and staff.
This means the council will not progress to procure the contract externally but push ahead with discussions to launch its arm’s-length organisation by the end of the year.
It follows the early termination of the council’s joint venture with private contractor Amey – Enterprise Liverpool Limited (ELL) – which was initially not due to end until 2022.
According to councillors, the £8 million per year contract has been dogged with issues since the venture was launched in July 2013. More than 400 refuse workers and street cleaners in Liverpool took part in industrial action that summer over demands for a 3% pay rise and fears over job losses (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, in July last year, Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson was forced to apologise for the ‘unacceptable’ levels of street cleansing in the city.
‘Regrettable’
Commenting on the decision, a spokesperson for Amey said that ‘while regrettable’, it was mutually agreed that an end to the contract was the ‘best course of action for all’.
Welcoming the GMB’s decision to back the move this week, the Mayor said the new arrangement would help Liverpool deliver major savings and reach its aspirational recycling target – which currently stands at 55% by 2020.
He said: “I am pleased that the workforce has supported this move, as it gives us the opportunity to introduce a service that the workforce and Council believe in and one in which all parties work together.
“Our overriding aim is to ensure that the city’s residents have an efficient, top quality, high performing refuse and recycling collection service. They want to know that their bins will be collected, when we say we are going to collect them.”
Agreement
George Patterson, GMB Regional organiser, added: “The Trade Union have worked extremely hard together with the Mayor in delivering an agreement that we believe will improve the refuse and recycling service and will also reduce the cost of the service to the council. We look forward working with the new company and the Mayor to help deliver his vision of a cleaner, brighter, sparkling city.”
Liverpool Waste Management and Related Services is the latest in a growing line of local authority trading companies set up by councils to provide public services.
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) last year argued councils should ‘unquestionably’ tender on the open market, but a need to reduce costs and lengthy procurement procedures has incentivised many to reject outsourcing (see letsrecycle.com story).
Register for free to comment