The industrial action follows growing dissatisfaction among the workforce over the city council’s use of CCTV in refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) – which the union claims has never been agreed or covered by official policy.
GMB argues that as a result, disciplinary procedures and sanctions have become “increasingly severe” with the Sheffield branch of the union reportedly receiving several gross misconduct cases a week.
Consequently, refuse workers will stage a 24-hour walk out, from 6am on Friday (1 April).
The strike action also follows worker action over the management of Sheffield’s household waste and recycling centres, which are run by The Green Company under an arrangement with the council’s main contractor Veolia.
The HWRCs have previously been the scene of discontent when in 2014 the GMB attempted to make a deal on premium pay for weekend and overtime working, as well as better toilet and shower facilities for its members (see letsrecycle.com story).
Action
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Peter Davies, regional officer for GMB, said that workers may be likely to approve further strike action.
He said: “This dispute is far worse than even we had anticipated. The council are under the illusion that Veolia is there to make savings and Veolia are under the illusion that they can carry on as normal in the current economic climate. It’s important that the key players come to the table to sort this out.”
Mr Davies added: “No one wants a strike but this ballot resulted in a 92.5% vote in favour of action that, I believe, shows the level of our members’ anger at the treatment of their colleagues on the receiving end of this aggression.”
Commenting on behalf of Veolia and the city council, a spokeswoman for Veolia said that the company was “disappointed” in GMB’s decision having worked closely with the union and employees in recent weeks.
She said: “A further announcement will be issued later today on the status of the collection service and any alternative arrangements.”
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