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Poole refuse collectors could lose £60 a week due to fair pay review

5:19pm Friday 15th January 2010 in


DISGRUNTLED Poole refuse collectors are unhappy at proposals that could lose them £60 a week.

Loaders, who collect the wheelie bins, say they also face a five-hour reduction in their working week as well as an increased work load.

There are mutterings about an unofficial work to rule as the borough struggles to catch up with a backlog of bins, some of which have not been emptied since before Christmas due to the icy conditions.

Friends and relatives have contacted the Daily Echo on behalf of the unhappy loaders, whose routes were recently changed and who are among the 13 per cent of 3,700 Borough of Poole employees to face a pay cut in the fair pay review.

“I am disgusted at what is going on with the loaders in Poole who work so hard, in all weathers,” said the friend of one.

Morale is at rock bottom, said a relative of another man.

“It seems to me they undervalue these men and women doing important work,” he said.

Alan Martin, south-west regional organiser of Unison, said there was no official industrial action.

“We are doing what we can to make sure that everybody is treated fairly and equitably,” he said.

The ballot on the council’s fair pair review, which will see 26 per cent of staff enjoying a pay increase but also some losing thousands of pounds, was due to be counted on Friday.

Mr Martin said some members were concerned about contractual overtime, however, there would be future discussions with the council after the pay review.

Shaun Robson, head of environmental and consumer protection, said: “It is disappointing to see such claims and we believe it represents the view of a small minority of the workforce. We are not aware of a ‘work to rule’ and many operatives have been working additional hours, including evenings and weekends.”

He said while the majority of the new rounds were completed within the given hours they recognised that some needed fine-tuning.

“The equal pay review is recommending an increase in the hourly rate of pay for refuse crews,” he added.

Comments(19)

MJD says...
5:57pm Fri 15 Jan 10

Looks like more Polish jobs. Coming up. Stick to your guns Loaders. They want more money for the fat cats at the top and them sat on there a$$es in nice warm offices.

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poolebabe says...
6:04pm Fri 15 Jan 10

That's horrible. These guys have a tough job to do, and now with all these silly rules and regulations, the last thing they need are pay cuts!

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Emulated says...
6:10pm Fri 15 Jan 10

The people that do these reviews have never done a hard dats manual work. So how can they rate the wages for what these men do, surely they should be better paid than an offie job.

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Trifecta says...
6:34pm Fri 15 Jan 10

Are Poole dustmen paid more than their peers elsewhere ? What is the current hourly rate ? Some context is needed for this story please!

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traindriver3ss says...
6:38pm Fri 15 Jan 10

this sounds very familiar those at the top crapping on those at the bottom, Is the council chief executive taking a similar percentage pay cut?? I'm guessing Poole council would be Tory run???

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HughJarse says...
6:46pm Fri 15 Jan 10

Incredible short-sightedness! These refuse collectors are at an ever increasing risk from needlestick injuries, they have worked to higher rates of efficiency, adapted to a change of established routes, in short, they have done everything a reasonable employer could be asked of them - and then they have their pay cut by £60 a week.
For years they have provided an efficient reliable service & get treated like this.
Who thinks that their supervisors would have had recent physical experience themselves?
Too many chiefs, not enough Indians I think - Who believes the supervisors will be out collecting when the refuse collectors all leave?

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jboris says...
6:52pm Fri 15 Jan 10

Maybe it is time to abolish local Councils and their fat cat bosses, insider 'conflict of interest' cons and backhanders etc. We all know they are as corrupt as the MP's. Time for a new way of running our country and taking the power back from the liars and thieves?

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SFRA says...
6:52pm Fri 15 Jan 10

Whats all this about needles etc. Bin men refuse to pick up bags unless they are in bins, except for the odd occasion when they have had weeks off because of a bit of ice on the roads. We the taxpayer have to wheel our bins to the roadside because they will not collect over a certain meterage unless the resident is disabled. Think back to when bin men were bin men, and wheelie pushers.

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traindriver3ss says...
7:11pm Fri 15 Jan 10

SFRA, don't think you will find any of these idea's are down to the bin men!!! but if your happy blaming those doing their job rather than those making th policies i guess thats OK for you!!

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The Sage says...
7:15pm Fri 15 Jan 10

So the refuse collectors are deemed to worth less because of an equal pay policy they were doing the same demanding job last month for a fair wage so why are they expected to take a pay cut when I know they made a valiant effort to collect our bins whilst borough accountants are paid without fear of wage cuts whilst losing money in Icelandic banks.
surely the womans pay should be raised not men's reduced a wage freeze at the top is called for.

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Merleyman says...
7:16pm Fri 15 Jan 10

This has come about as a result of another crazy decision by this inept, useless Government.
Equal pay is a great idea in theory but by not thinking everything through to the end, the Government have created this problem in a number of councils throughout the country.
A very similar crass decision was made by Labour was to give Doctors a massive pay rise, but at the same time reduce their hours and the need to work at nights and weekends.
Roll on May.

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tt52 says...
7:22pm Fri 15 Jan 10

I wonder if refuse collectors in other boroughs would be on the same wage, if not surly there is a case to fight here.
A similar process as this has happened in the NHS but luckily enough it was the higher paid that lost money and lower paid gained an increase.
Of the hundreds of thousands of pounds our expense grabbing MPs get for sitting on their backsides all day in centrally heated offices I would have thought that the bin men would get an increase as they work so hard in all weathers, This is just another way of saving money so the councillors can award themselves another big pay rise. Money grabbing pigs.

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iwannamoanalot says...
7:43pm Fri 15 Jan 10

The problem the council has is that its a Central Government policy, its to tackle the gross underpayment of alot of social working type roles,many are female and are not payed equally to their male counterparts...unfor
tunately the process has to be applied to everyone to make it fair!! tt52 I agree, look at the councillors...who incedently awarded themselves a pay hike....heres a little fact, did you all know that Poole councillors claim more mileage than 3 whole departments put together. Oh and these strategic directors are exempt from this pay policy! As residents we have the power to change the way the councillors operate, maybe people should stick up for the little man a bit more.
I know of several people who are losing at least 4k a year. The union accepted the pay policy and some blame should be put on them too...they take the membership money but then screw members by not fighting in their corner. Remember everyone this is still to happen at Bournemouth, so I suspect that local services will be affected through both boroughs...get rid of theses councillors, get some people who really care and are a true representation of the people!!!!

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poolebabe says...
10:12am Sat 16 Jan 10

SFRA wrote:
Whats all this about needles etc. Bin men refuse to pick up bags unless they are in bins, except for the odd occasion when they have had weeks off because of a bit of ice on the roads. We the taxpayer have to wheel our bins to the roadside because they will not collect over a certain meterage unless the resident is disabled. Think back to when bin men were bin men, and wheelie pushers.
You can't just blame the bin men for the changes. It's down to the EU laws and council's policy. Bin men want to be able to do their job I'm sure, but it's the councils that make the rules, not the bin men. There was a story in the paper the other day of a bin man that was sacked because he collected too much rubbish. Instead of leaving it there as he was told, he was snooped on, he cleared the rubbish and he got sacked for it. Don't blame the monkey!

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minivoice says...
1:07pm Sat 16 Jan 10

I was recently in Spain and noticed that they don't have crews on the Bin lorries, as in the area that i was staying had shared bins that served about 20 dwellings, The driver simply drove up to the bins and it was mechanicaly emptied, he did'nt even have to get out of his cab. Maybe we could save a small fortune on adopting this kind of method, Also from a health and safety issue this is in my view a better option. However i think that it is wrong to impose these pay cuts on the people who are on the lowest wages, it would be better to get rid of a large amount of the middle management, is a case of too many chiefs and too few indians.

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SFRA says...
3:43pm Sat 16 Jan 10

I appreciate it is not directly the bin mens issue here, but that of the unions and their bosses. The real problems is the introduction of the H&S rules, and jobsworth, etc. It is OK for us to get the bins to the roadside, with extra rubbish (when there is ice on the roads), but not for them to collect. Regarding the above comment from (minivoice) when the second bin was introduced we had no where to put them, so a compound was produced. We then asked if we could have palladins put in place for the communal use of the flat owners and tenants. The reply was from both the bosses and talking to the bin men, "Too far to walk, it is over 9m to the compound from the road." I suppose they would have liked the elderly and infirmed to wheel them to the roadside. This is the point I am trying to get at.

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poolebabe says...
8:03pm Sat 16 Jan 10

SFRA wrote:
I appreciate it is not directly the bin mens issue here, but that of the unions and their bosses. The real problems is the introduction of the H&S rules, and jobsworth, etc. It is OK for us to get the bins to the roadside, with extra rubbish (when there is ice on the roads), but not for them to collect. Regarding the above comment from (minivoice) when the second bin was introduced we had no where to put them, so a compound was produced. We then asked if we could have palladins put in place for the communal use of the flat owners and tenants. The reply was from both the bosses and talking to the bin men, "Too far to walk, it is over 9m to the compound from the road." I suppose they would have liked the elderly and infirmed to wheel them to the roadside. This is the point I am trying to get at.
You should try living in France then!! They don't have big bin wagons and recyling is the law. You often see young, old and elderly carrying recyling containers to recycling points. They don't have a choice. No big bins there. Just containers, and EVERYTHING has to be seperated. We do have it easy here compared to other countries. It's still not the bin men's fault. No matter what THEIR answer is. It is down to council policy. That's MY point.
.
In any job, you have to do as you are told. The frontline people are the one's who get it in the neck for the stupid rules the boses make or face the sack. That's not fair, and neither are the pay cuts!!

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Carl Baron says...
10:31pm Sun 17 Jan 10

As usual take money from those at the bottom of the pay scale who actually do Work for a living. Whilst 'Fat Cats' sit in warm offices and retire early at Taxpayers Expense.

Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk

http://carl-agpcuk.l
ivejournal.com/

http://disqus.com/Ca
rl_Barron/

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mikey2gorgeous says...
11:38am Mon 18 Jan 10

Trifecta wrote:
Are Poole dustmen paid more than their peers elsewhere ? What is the current hourly rate ? Some context is needed for this story please!
Hear hear, once again the Echo reports with no background investigation & no information to base judgements on.

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