Earlier this month, the council said in a notice to residents that while there are a “variety of issues” impacting its refuse crews’ ability to access properties over the past year, the council’s service has been “particularly affected as a result of legacy work practices”.
This sparked a strong response from Unite, which represents waste collection workers in the region, which said: “This misrepresentation is an attempt to use a crisis caused by staffing shortages resulting from their own policies to advance their long-term objective of ending task and finish.”
‘Scapegoat’
Unite regional officer for the workforce Gareth Scott, said:“ Fermanagh and Omagh council is intent on using the failure to collect bins – caused by their own poor policies – to attack the longstanding practice of bin workers being paid under ‘task and finish’. The reality is that without task and finish the situation in waste collection would be far worse as the current system encourages workers to complete the collections in the most efficient manner.
“Instead of trying to scapegoat bin workers, the council should review how its policies have created a crisis where staffing and resourcing is insufficient to deliver a frontline service. Far from being a cause of the problem, task and finish is the most efficient way to conduct waste collections. The waste collection workers are committed to delivering a first-class service to the public.”
Task and finish
Task and finish is the practise of being paid for completing a task as opposed to hourly. For refuse crews, this would enable them to finish earlier and still be paid once certain rounds are completed.
Unions argue that task and finish is the most efficient way to organise waste bin collections as it encourages workers to commence bin runs early to avoid rush-hour delays and to proceed swiftly through the work.
However, the practise has been described as “outdated” by a number of authorities and politicians, namely Michael Gove, who argue that people should not be paid for hours they are not working, particularly when councils are facing financial pressures.
The issue has been arising in many disputes in recent years. For example, In Bexley a dispute arose over working conditions when there was an attempt to change task and finish rules (see letsrecycle.com story).
More recently, Southampton council also put a stop to task and finish to “provide a better service” and to “ensure all staff are working to consistent terms and conditions, and everyone is working the hours they are paid for.”
It is understood this was also partly put down to fears of facing potential equal pay disputes from other council staff who were not able to enjoy such perks, particularly in care roles.
However, ending task and finish in Southampton has caused weeks’ worth of collections disruption in the area.
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