Union to ballot over Christmas bin strike in Coventry

[rebbonk]

According to the council website, I'm due for a collection tomorrow. I've just put my bin out, but there are very few others that have done so. I await the outcome!

[dutchman]

Pensioner claims her bins haven't been collected since Christmas



An elderly resident said her bins were not collected since Christmas as rubbish continues to pile up along her street amid ongoing bin strikes.

Hilda Porter, 78, from Coventry, said her green bins have not been emptied for more than a month with overflowing trash piling up outside her home.

Hilda claimed bin collections were missed two times in a row along her entire street and neighbouring roads.

She told Coventry Live: "The last time I had my green bins emptied was a week before Christmas.

"We've been putting bins out as instructed by the council but there were no sign of any lorries.

"The whole street hasn't been emptied and the streets around where I live."

The 78-year-old, who has a disability, lives on her own and cannot drive, so she has to rely on her son-in-law to take her trash to a drop-off point.

She added: "I live on my own and my son-in-law came over the weekend to take away two bags of recycling rubbish to one of the drop off sites.

"But nobody has actually emptied the green bins, and the material at the bottom of the bin would have been since before Christmas."

Hilda expressed her disappointment at the no-show from bin lorry drivers, saying she was 'cross' and 'annoyed' that her bins still haven't been collected for weeks.

She added: "I can't drive now, I use a walking frame and I have a mild disability.

"I know there is a dispute and there is going to be problems.

"Some areas have had two bin collections since Christmas, and others like mine had none.

"It makes me feel quite cross because I wrote to my local councillor, it's my first time ever contacting them.

"I'm very annoyed, we've been sitting here waiting and we've not had any collections."

[dutchman]

'Vicious cycle' sees waste from fly-tippers piling up at Coventry flats



Residents claim a 'vicious cycle' at a Coventry block of flats is seeing fly-tipped rubbish pile up in the building's communal waste area.

Communal bins have been full since before Christmas, but the council say they are unable to empty them due to 'excess waste' surrounding them - which was dumped there by fly-tippers - which they say needs to be cleared by the housing association Stonewater.

The fly-tipped excess waste has already been cleared once, say residents - but they claimed the council did not empty the bins quick enough, and MORE rubbish, including clinical waste according to one resident, has been dumped again - leading to the council to say again they can't empty the bins until they can get access.

Resident Zaid Rehman told CoventryLive: "It’s a complete farce. Residents have done everything asked of them. They’re really frustrated with the situation and the lack of response.

"It’s a vicious circle. Coventry City Council wanted Stonewater to clear the excess rubbish, which they’ve already done. It’s taken the council too long to get back as more has been flytipped.

"The council just need to get this resolved for the sake of the health and well-being of the residents."

Yesterday (1 February) Zaid tweeted his frustrations to the council, sharing an image of the waste.

It was captioned: "Residents at Rotherham House, Earlsdon, faced with ongoing issues of flytipping, including clinical waste. They've been waiting weeks for a clear up."

Asking if the council could help, Zaid was told whoever was responsible for the building needed to remove the excess waste before they could empty the bins.

Another resident, under the account Studio Giltrap, responded to tell the council the excess has already been removed once by Stonewater, but the council still didn't empty the bins, resulting in more waste being dumped - meaning the council still couldn't empty them.

[dutchman]

Unite threatens to withdraw national Labour Party funding due to Coventry bin row



Trade union Unite has threatened to withdraw national funding from the Labour Party over the bin strike in Coventry.

Tonight, during a Facebook Live rally, General Secretary Sharon Graham threatened to remove national and regional financial backing the union provides over the council's 'mistreatment' of bin workers in the city.

Ms Graham said: "I say both to the Labour council and the Labour Party, you talk a lot about unity.

"But now we need action, not words.

"So let me be very, very clear - until this strike is settled the remaining financial relationship with the Labour Party is now under review.

"There will be no Labour politician in the Midlands or party office who will get one single penny from my members or any practical support of any kind while this strike is going ahead."

Ms Graham added: "I hear that Labour are asking the question 'is the withdrawal of finance regional or national?' from what we've said tonight.

"I can say to them, it's both.

"Their job now is to pick up the phone, get this sorted out, get people back round the table and start a negotiation.

"That's all people are asking for."

[rebbonk]

There is more behind this than our bin collector's strike.

BTW, my bin was eventually emptied on Tuesday, after being left out since the prior Thursday. What I did notice was that because it wasn't full, some cheeky b*gger had taken the liberty to fill it for me.

[dutchman]

That's precisely why I never leave mine out!

[dutchman]

It was very patchy around here on Tuesday. Some streets - including ours - had their bins emptied but others didn't.

[rebbonk]

Mine has been emptied this morning.

[dutchman]

Two waste drop sites to close after collections introduced



Two temporary waste drop sites are to close, despite ongoing industrial action by refuse workers.

Strikes in Coventry look set to last into April as lorry drivers call for improved wages.

Coventry City Council said it was closing two sites as fortnightly household waste collections would be carried out by a private contractor owned by the local authority.

From Monday, four of the temporary sites will also accept recycling.

About 75 bin lorry drivers who are members of Unite have been staging walk-outs in the city in a dispute over pay.

A full strike started at the end of January, although some residents had seen their bins uncollected for several weeks before that.

The city council introduced several temporary drop-off sites to allow residents to dispose of their rubbish, although there has been criticism that they have only been useful for those with vehicles.

Two of those sites - at Tom White Waste and Cheylesmore car park - will shut on Friday.

Sites on War Memorial Park, Hearsall Common, Willenhall Social Club and Aldermans Green Road will become duel sites from Monday 21 February, where people can take recycling along with household waste.

So far more than 360,000 cars have visited the nine existing drop sites, the local authority said.

[dutchman]

Bin strike to continue into summer after workers vote for fresh strike action



A 'catalogue of failures' by Coventry City Council will see the bin strike run into the summer, trade union Unite has announced.

The strike was voted to be extended once again in a new ballot in which 94 per cent of bin lorry drivers voted to extend the strike. It was due to come to an end this month but has now been extended, with no set date yet to be given by the union on when it could finish.

Last week saw Coventry City Council call on the trade union to end the long-running bin lorry drivers’ strike following an ACAS ruling over pay. The council has pointed to the independent arbitration service’s finding that the drivers should be paid a Grade 5 salary, which it says workers are already on.

The union has rejected this and instead voted to extend the strike, which has been going on since December and has been an all-out strike since January 31.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Rank incompetence and a catalogue of failures by Coventry council mean this strike will continue into the summer. The dispute could have been easily settled with capable council leaders. Instead, George Duggins and the other councillors have scandalously squandered millions and refused to attend a single meeting with Unite.

"The council have inflamed the situation by suspending our shop steward on bogus grounds and they turned the opportunity we had to settle the dispute at Acas into a farce."

Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: "George Duggins and his councillors have failed the people of Coventry and they have failed the workers. It is time for the council to address the underpayment of the drivers.

"They need to stop this grotesque waste of money in the middle of a cost of living crisis. It’s time to enter into negotiations to end this dispute."