Sheffield bin strikers set to join mass picket as their fight for union rights is debated by council
Workers are set to picket Veolia's Lumley Street depot next Wednesday
Sheffield bin strikers will be joining a mass picket outside their workplace on the day that a petition and resolution supporting their action are debated at Sheffield Town Hall.
The picket will take place outside the Veolia Lumley Street depot next Wednesday, July 9, at 6am. Publicity for the mass picket says that it has been called by the strikers, with the support of regional trades union councils, left-wing campaign We Demand Change, local trade union branches and other supporting groups.
The strike, which has just entered its 11th month of all-out action, was launched by trade union Unite as part of a campaign for union recognition by the bin workers’ employer Veolia, who run waste services on behalf of Sheffield City Council.
Strikers recently voted in a ballot to continue their action. The company has a sole union recognition deal with the GMB union and the GMB opposes the recognition of Unite.
The company went to the High Court last month (June 4) to successfully seek an injunction against Unite which prevents strikers from taking any action which disrupts its activities.
This has included groups walking slowly in circles in front of lorries leaving the Lumley Street depot and the company’s Tinsley Park Road recycling site, holding vehicles up from leaving the site.
High court documents say that the collection of thousands of bins has been disrupted by 16 days of such direct action in April, May and June.
They also state that Veolia “have suffered and continue to suffer financial loss and reputational harm as a result of the direct action.
“The direct action is causing harm to the claimants’ employees,” say the court papers. “It is leading to damage to morale, including due to the overtime that they are being required to work in order to collect all of the bins.”
The high court also heard that the number of complaints from members of the public about their bins not being emptied has increased as a result.
Later next Wednesday, Sheffield City Council will debate a petition in support of the strikers, as well as considering a motion from the Sheffield Community Councillors group, urging the council to take action to find a resolution.
The petition has been signed by 6,180 people, including more than 5,000 from people with Sheffield postcodes. That passes a threshold which means that the full council must debate the petition.
Called ‘Clean up Veolia’s mess’, it states: “Sheffield is hiking council tax by as much as £120 a year under the council’s budget plans. The council is in financial crisis and struggling to make ends meet.
“Meanwhile, it is paying French multinational corporation Veolia millions to run its bins.
“Veolia made £11.7 million in profit from Sheffield in 2023, while the council faces a budget shortfall of over £20 million. Veolia makes money from taxpayers all over the globe – over £800 million a year in global profits – much of it coming from public contracts like Sheffield.
“The company is also rubbish for Sheffield bin workers. It is denying binmen at the Lumley Street depot in Sheffield the right to be represented by Unite in pay negotiations. This has led to industrial action lasting over six months and counting.
“It’s easy to resolve but the company refuses to do so. Instead, it’s been wasting more money on an expensive smear campaign against Unite.
“Sheffield residents deserve better. Unite is calling on Sheffield Council to undertake a full review of the current contract with Veolia and explore all options, including bringing the services back in-house. The priority has to be a good service for residents.”
The motion on the agenda has been brought by Coun Denise Fox and will be seconded by Coun Terry Fox of the Sheffield Community Councillors group.
It notes that the dispute “is causing ongoing hardship and suffering for employees and their families in Sheffield”.
The motion also notes that industrial action by Unite members “came about because Veolia fails to recognise the Unite trades union for collective bargaining purposes, and that Veolia operate several contracts elsewhere in the UK with multi-union recognition agreements in place”.
It believes this impacts workers’ right to freedom of association and their right to join an independent trades union. The motion says that, despite the decision by the government’s Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), it questions why Veolia feel unable to allow Unite to take a role in negotiation of terms and conditions.
The CAC ruled in March against Unite gaining recognition because of the agreement already in place between Veolia and the GMB.
The motion argues that it is a simple dispute to settle but says Veolia has failed to do so.
It calls on the leader of the council, Coun Tom Hunt, to consider bringing both sides to the negotiating table, mediating in negotiations and “bringing about resolution to this matter for the benefit of the workers concerned specifically and the citizens and council tax payers of Sheffield in general”.
The motion argues that “as a result of this industrial action, thousands of bins are left unemptied, or collection delayed daily, and that the use of agency staff comes at significant cost to Veolia; this is in addition to the financial and opportunity costs to those involved in the industrial action, the suffering of their families, the mental health and well-being of the refuse workers and the environmental impact of uncollected waste and increased fly tipping”.