Unite Union slams South Glocs Council's open letter over bin strikes
Yesterday (July 4), the local authority's Leader and Co-Leader published an open letter on behalf of residents
Last updated 5th Jul 2023
The Unite Union has hit out at South Gloucestershire Council, who published an open letter yesterday, asking what has been done to mitigate the industrial action that could last until September.
They've called it a ‘pretend intervention to cover its back’.
The letter, regarding all out pay strikes by 150 Suez workers, demands to know “what actions have been taken to date to settle the industrial action and to set out how you will resolve the dispute between yourselves”.
In response to the letter, 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.”
According to its latest UK financial returns, Suez brought in UK profits of £80.8 million in 2021. Meanwhile, Suez’s South Gloucestershire bin loaders earn just £11.53 per hour.
The workers began strike action in June after rejecting an eight per cent pay offer.
Walkouts are currently due to last every day until September, with the local authority announcing a set of measures to mitigate the action earlier this week.
It's claimed by the union, with the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 11.3 per cent, the offer currently on the table is a significant real terms pay cut.
Unite regional officer Ken Fish said: “Since the strike action began, Suez has absolutely refused to enter into negotiations with Unite. Instead, the company has taken its lead from the council, which so far has done its best to bury its head in the sand.
“That is not good enough for South Gloucestershire’s residents nor for our members, who are wondering why a LibDem/Labour council is happy for Suez to bring in agency workers to break the strike. The council needs to get a grip because Suez’s attempts to union bust are in fact just prolonging the strike.”
In response to these claims, South Gloucestershire Council say they look forward to hearing the formal response by Suez and Unite to the open letter.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson 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 said: “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.”
We have contacted Suez for a comment - and we will share their statements here when they do.
Read more: Council co-leaders publish open letter ahead of months of bin strikes