Unite has criticised an 'open letter' written by South Gloucestershire Council claiming it is a 'pretend intervention'.
A dispute between the union and Suez, the waste company hired by the council, means residents will have to endure a summer of bin strikes. There are fears that uncollected rubbish will lead to health hazards, especially for the most vulnerable people who would have difficulty getting waste to recycling centres.
At the moment, it's claimed that Suez won't return to the negotiating table and now the council, which hires Suez, has asked both parties to issue a 'clear explanation' to the public about what's happening. In the letter, dated July 4, the leader and co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council called upon both Unite and Suez to "explain what actions have been taken to date to settle the industrial action and to set out how [they] will resolve the dispute between them".
READ MORE: South Gloucestershire bin strikes extended to September with 'summer of stink' ahead
They also said that the current dispute between Unite the union and Suez was putting all of the 'success' of waste and recycling collection in South Gloucestershire over the years "at risk". The letter continued: "We believe that residents are owed a clear explanation of your actions to date as well as the details of how you are seeking to resolve the dispute, so that waste services can return to normal, and we can continue the collective effort and do even better."
In a response issued on Wednesday, July 5, Unite called the Council's 'open letter' "a pretend intervention to cover its back". Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “South Gloucestershire council’s contract with Suez is worth over £18 million a year.
"It holds the purse strings to a very lucrative operation and could very easily tell the company to re-join negotiations. This is something Suez has so far refused to do, despite numerous requests to the company from Unite.
“From the beginning of this dispute, Unite has repeatedly asked the council to use its influence to force Suez back into talks to find a resolution. It has steadfastly ignored this advice and is directly responsible for the disruption now being caused to its constituents.
"The open letter is a pretend intervention to cover the council’s back from a rightly angry public. It needs to roll its sleeves up and tell Suez to get back round the table.”
Bristol Live reported on Tuesday that South Gloucestershire residents could face months of recycling disruption as waste collectors continue to strike. Last week, Unite announced that strike action had intensified and was "set to last every day until September".
Strike action started after members rejected an eight per cent pay offer from global waste company Suez, which Unite called a significant real-term pay cut when looking at the firm’s annual profits, which were £80.8m in 2021 after inflation. The company’s South Gloucestershire bin loaders earn £11.53 per hour.
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Around 150 workers employed by Suez are taking part in the strike action, which began last month and now, South Gloucestershire Council has introduced additional measures to deal with the impact on kerbside collections.
The authority has said black bin collections would be prioritised and residents are asked to continue to put out black bins on their scheduled day. If it is not collected, then households will need to report a missed collection.
South Gloucestershire residents can take recycling and food waste to four additional locations every weekday between 8am and 2pm. These locations are:
- Stoke Gifford Park and Ride (Parkway station) - Hunts Ground Road, BS34 8XX
- Lyde Green Park and Ride - Willowherb Road, BS16 7GG
- Page Road short stay car park Staple Hill - Page Road, BS16 4NE
- SGC North Way site, Filton - BS34 7QG.
There are also plans for additional recycling-only bins that will be accessible 24/7 where residents can deposit cardboard, paper, glass, cans and plastic. The council has said it is still waiting for the locations of these to be confirmed.
What else did the Council's 'open letter' say?
The 'open letter' from the Council went on to say that the collection and recycling of waste in South Gloucestershire is "delivered through a 25-year private finance initiative (FPI) contract, which is due to end in July 2025". They also listed what the 'arrangement' had achieved during its time, which included an increase in recycling from 14% in 2003 to almost 60% in 2021-22, making this the 2nd ranked Unitary Authority in the country.
Other successes listed included 'substantial resident service improvements including weekly dry and food recycling, assisted collections for vulnerable residents and kerbside sort recycling, all improving the ability to reuse materials, and a reduction of waste to landfill by 72%, down to just 8% in 2021-22. The Council said that "all of this has resulted in a positive customer satisfaction rate of 74% (2022-23), the highest of all council services in South Gloucestershire".
The Council ended the letter by saying: "We look forward to receiving your response and for the avoidance of doubt we will publish this for residents."
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson responded to Unite's comments today (July 5) and said: “We have been clear in our intention to encourage a swift resolution to the dispute between Unite and SUEZ. We are continuing to encourage both parties involved in the dispute to engage positively in talks and have been doing all that we can to offer residents additional measures to dispose of their waste whilst the disruption continues.
“We look forward to receiving formal responses to our open letter from both Unite and Suez.”
Leader of South Gloucestershire Council Councillor Claire Young added: “We have not been privy to the negotiations that have been taking place between SUEZ and Unite, but we are acutely aware of the impact on our residents. Since the change of the council’s administration in May, this new administration has yet to be approached formally by either party to get involved in these negotiations.
"We have, however, asked both parties to explain what they have been doing to reach an agreement. We await responses from Unite and SUEZ.”
