A union says it will ballot for strike action among Kirklees bin collectors.
Unison is to begin the process of balloting for industrial action, citing issues in the Kirklees Council department of bullying, harassment, intimidation and workers’ inability to take holiday or attend medical appointments.
The process is just beginning with members in the council’s domestic refuse collection and trade waste service yet to vote.
But Paul Holmes, Kirklees Unison branch secretary, said he was confident members would vote in favour of industrial action.
He said: “This is a sad state of affairs. Our members are the victims of terrible bullying and harassment.
“The unions and management agreed an investigation into many of the issues in November 2017 yet nothing has happened.
“The bin workers have no alternative to strike because of how they are being treated.
“I have no doubt, having spoken to our members, that there will be a large ‘yes’ vote for strike action.
“The council need to stick to the agreement we made in November 2017 to have an outside investigation into what has gone on.”
A Kirklees Council spokesman said they were hoping to avoid industrial action, saying: “The council will not tolerate bullying or harassment and take allegations of this nature very seriously. Any allegations are dealt with through the relevant council procedures.
“We are aware of the concerns raised by some of our employees, and as a result we have commissioned a review of the cleansing service to make sure we can continue to deliver the best services for our residents.
“We are working closely with union representatives to make sure that all concerns are addressed as part of this review. The review will shortly reach a conclusion and we are confident that by working together, we can avoid industrial action and disruption to our residents.”
There has long been a divide between workers and management in the department, which stemmed from changes introduced in 2015 for collections over 38 hours in four days – Monday to Thursday.
Fridays are set aside to finish rounds and carry out maintenance, but the days are said to be busier because the rounds are unachievable in four days.
The dispute came to a head with a ‘wildcat strike’ last November which saw 4,000 bins go uncollected.
Just days before Christmas three refuse collectors were suspended for not clocking off at the depot. Mr Holmes said they had not finished earlier.
In January it was claimed a team leader referred to binmen as “w*****” at a meeting.
