Union to ballot over Christmas bin strike in Coventry

[dutchman]

Coventry bin strike ends after seven months of negotiations



A seven-month strike by bin lorry drivers in Coventry has finally ended with a deal, the city council has announced. The 70 HGV drivers it employs, who have been striking since January 31, will go back to work after an agreement was finalised today (July 29).

The dispute has cost Coventry City Council more than £4 million from lost income and mitigation measures - such as installing rubbish drop-off sites and sub-contracting out driver jobs.

In a statement released this afternoon, the council said it was "frustrated" at the time taken to resolve the dispute as it claimed elements of the deal had been on the table last year.

"This unnecessary delay has meant the council has had to deal with a net cost pressure of more than £4 million," it said, "through a mixture of paying for mitigation measures to ensure Coventry residents continued to receive waste collection services and a substantial loss in commercial waste income."

The authority took a swipe at union tactics, claiming officers and councillors had been hit with "co-ordinated and misleading attacks" from a supposed community activism group that had Unite funding.

Andrew Walster, director of streetscene and regulatory services, said the council was "bitterly disappointed" at the time it had taken to find a resolution. He said: “This deal could have been agreed much sooner. The core elements regarding the minimum salary for bin lorry drivers has been on the table since January this year.

"In fact, the changes to weekend working to boost pay for all drivers – which is within the Council’s existing terms and conditions – is something that was initially offered in November last year before drivers were balloted.

"The biggest frustration has been the disruption households have at times had to endure because of this action."

More details on the deal and the response from Unite are set to follow.

[dutchman]

Full details of pay rise that has ended the Coventry bin strike - including Christmas bonuses



Trade union Unite has hailed the 'fair and just' pay rise its members earned after the bitter bin strikes in Coventry finally reached a resolution. After seven months of negotiating, a deal was finally struck which will see bin lorry drivers' wages increase by an inflation-busting 12.9 per cent - equivalent to an extra £3,600 per year in their pay packets.

The deal, brokered yesterday, Friday, July 29, also includes Christmas bonuses worth £4,000 and an eight per cent increase for new starters, worth more than £1,850 per annum, while disciplinary charges against Unite Shop Steward Pete Randle have been dropped.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: "This win shows the new direction of Unite. We will defend our members pay and conditions, however long it takes.

"This continuous action has delivered real terms pay increases for our members. This deal represents a fair and just pay award and all charges against our victimised rep have now been dropped.

"It is quite frankly wrong that our members were forced to take this action against a Labour council, but Unite will always back its members against any employer who refuses to negotiate. I am very proud of our reps and members."

The city's 70 bin lorry drivers walked out over pay back in January in a dispute that has cost Coventry City Council millions. Unite’s National Officer Onay Kasab added: "Unite members relied on the strength of collective action which has secured yet another win for workers. Congratulations to the Coventry HGV strikers!"

[dutchman]

Total victory for the bin men and union, total defeat for the city council!

[dutchman]

35 bin staff to leave jobs after 'devastating impact' of Coventry bin strikes



A number of bin collection staff at Coventry city council will leave their roles following a high-profile strike earlier this year.

A total of 35 senior drivers and crew have applied for voluntary redundancy (VR) and early retirement (EV) packages that were offered this month.

Some will get more than £100,000, mostly in pension costs that are not direct payments, which were approved at a restricted council meeting yesterday (30 August), the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands.

The council said it made the decision due to the "devastating impact" of the all-out Coventry bin strike by HGV drivers between January and July 2022.

Commercial waste contracts totalling £2 million were lost due to disrupted collections during the 7-month strike, and the authority says this will be a yearly loss unless staff are let go.

Trade unions agreed to the move as part of the deal in July to end strike action, according to a report for today's Audit and Procurement Committee.

Bin staff who accepted the severance packages will leave their posts today (31 August).

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: "It is no secret that the long-running strike action carried out by bin lorry drivers had a devastating impact on our commercial waste operations.

"It has created a loss of income to the Council of around £2 million and this looks to be a permanent loss.

"This devastating impact means that we need to make readjustments to the service accordingly, so we have started an early retirement and voluntary redundancy (ER/VR) exercise with our drivers.

"All local authorities are bound by nationally agreed rules when working out financial figures as part of this and the report going to Audit Committee is a precautionary one at this stage."

[rebbonk]

£100k, I don't blame them. At least they'll be able to afford heat this coming winter!