Belfast councillors have criticised council officers for bad communication after a fifth of the city’s household bin collections were missed over the Christmas period.
At the full sitting of Belfast City Council this week, elected representatives from across the political divide slated council communication with the public and councillors over waste disposal. Councillors said that the angry response from residents was “mortifying,” while council worker’s morale was “at an all time low” from being “overworked and underpaid”.
On Boxing Day the council apologised to residents for inconvenience caused by a lack of bin collection over the festive period, and blamed a shortage of drivers. Collections which normally take place on Tuesday were not emptied on December 27, with residents told they would have to wait two weeks.
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The council’s People and Communities Committee on Tuesday night (January 10) has an item on its agenda regarding the waste service crisis, but it is listed as a restricted item meaning it will be discussed behind closed doors.
On Monday, SDLP Councillor Carl Whyte raised the debate on the matter in City Hall by referring to a report which stated the council had forecast a year-end underspend of £1.3m, largely due to vacant posts across a number of council services.
He said: “I am surprised to see an under-spend, given the absolute failure over Christmas regarding the collection of bins. One of the council’s main functions is to collect bins.
“All of us received emails on the 22nd and 23rd, the days before the Christmas holiday, informing us that people whose bins were collected on Tuesday just wouldn’t be collected. There was no phone call from officers, no highlighting this beforehand, and it wasn’t discussed at any committee.
“We just got an email popping into our inbox a couple of days before Christmas, saying sorry, if you have your bin collected on a Tuesday, then tough luck. On the council twitter account I think there was a message on the 23rd.”
He added: “Since Christmas I have been inundated, as I am sure other members have been as well, about the lack of brown and black collections over Christmas - one of the busiest times of the year.
“I got elected to Belfast City Council to represent people here. In people’s minds, despite all the things we talk about, in people’s minds we do two things, we collect bins and we run parks, that’s what we do. And if we fail on one of those, as we have in my area over Christmas, it is absolutely mortifying.”
People Before Profit Councillor Matt Collins said: “I get the impression there is a bit of a staffing crisis in our council and in our street cleansing. The explanation for the lack of bin collections over Christmas has been simply that we couldn't get staff to volunteer to come in and work on those days, despite the fact that a lot of staff were being offered double time and a day in lieu.
“People weren’t up for it, they chose to stay with their families, and they have got every right to do that. It doesn’t really surprise me, because the impression I have got from standing on picket lines for months with council workers striking for pay, is that morale is at an all time low.
“Our drivers and all council workers do a brilliant job, and we thank them. The reality is, when you talk to them, you hear the same thing - they are overworked and underpaid.
“The crisis over Christmas is a reflection of that. If you speak to any of these staff, they will tell you how pay and conditions have gotten worse over the years. They will tell you now people can earn more money driving for big supermarkets or doing a similar job in the private sector. That is the context we are working with.”
He added: “We have to be looking at recruiting more drivers, more staff, expanding the workforce and crucially increasing the pay and condition of those jobs to make it more appealing for staff to come in and do it. Otherwise this is going to become a recurring crisis.”
Green Councillor Anthony Flynn said: “Consistent bin collection and recycling is about building habits. It is about letting people know that every single week this is going to happen.
“That’s how we ensure our recycling rate stays up, and how we increase it. And as we know, our recycling rate in Belfast is going down, which is a very serious situation. Not only because of it in itself, but let’s remember how much we have to pay in landfill tax every single year. That’s extra millions we cannot spend on public services.”
He said: “We as elected members of the city should know ahead of time when it comes to these issues. Let's be honest, it is not the officers that get it in the neck over us, it is us, the elected members.
“We are the ones who act as a barrier between the council and the people who elect. It is not a good situation when you are sitting there without the information in front of you, and the constituent knows more. That needs to be fixed.”
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