Tower Hamlets bin strike
Tower Hamlets set for ‘piles of rubbish’ in refuse workers strike
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Bin collections and street cleaning services in the London borough of Tower Hamlets are set to stop after workers at Veolia, which holds the refuse, recycling and street cleaning contract for the borough, voted in favour of strike action in a dispute over an unsettled collective holiday pay claim.
Despite reaching an agreement with Unite and other trade unions on the calculation of holiday pay in August 2018, Veolia owes around 150 workers significant sums in arrears. The firm’s UK waste management division generated revenues of nearly £1bn in the first half of 2019.
Unite, which has about 250 members at Veolia, said that instead of settling the claim collectively the company had deterred staff from claiming the arrears by requiring individuals to launch ‘complicated and drawn out’ legal proceedings.
Unite members voted overwhelmingly (96.5 per cent) in favour of strike action in a ballot with a 70 per cent turnout that was held earlier this month.
Seven days of strike action beginning on Monday, March 9 at 3pm and ending on Monday, March 16 have now been set.
Unite regional officer Ruth Hydon said, “Veolia has caused these strikes by attempting to weasel out of paying the substantial holiday arrears it owes staff. The company now has to answer to Tower Hamlets residents who will be understandably angry at having to put up with overflowing bins and piles of rubbish.
“Our members have been left with no choice but to vote for strike action after Veolia forced each of them to launch complicated and drawn out legal claims to retrieve holiday pay that was theirs to begin with. This was nothing but a dishonourable attempt to put hard working staff off claiming what was owed,” she added.
“Veolia still has time to resolve this dispute before rubbish collections grind to a halt by agreeing to provide the collective financial settlement that should have been offered to begin with.”
