Unite Newsletter at Bradley Fold Bury

REFUSE workers and other Bury MBC employees at the waste depot at Bury MBC's Bradley Fold were treated to a workshop organised by Unite at 6am this morning and a union newsletter was distributed.  This is third such event in the last two weeks and has had a great reception from the workforce.

In these workshops the organisers spell out the benefits of awareness about workplace rights and procedures.  Sessions have include appeals to the shop-floor to explain the problems existing both on the site and throughout the workplace system.  The Unite organisers are highly experienced activists from across Greater Manchester such as Mark Doyle former from Manchester Airport and Steve Acheson a leading figure in the national campaign against the blacklist.

Workers are encouraged to take up their cases collectively.  Two issues are already in the pipeline with a vast number of signatures on petitions.  The issue of no tolerance for raised bin lids has already been fought and won in two Greater Manchester authorities, and it is anticipated that this may now well become an issue at Bury MBC.  A Unite newsletter stresses that health and safety is a vital issue and something every union member should be aware of. 

In the recent past at Bradley Fold Depot, there was a rather feeble attempt to try to get an active safety representative who had been questioning the issue of raised bin lids dismissed on rather dubious grounds relating to dignity at work, this case was later thrown out at an internal disciplinary hearing.  During that case the Human Resources manager, Ursula Skinner, conducted herself in such a partisan fashion that it led to complaints from the Bury Unite branch to her boss the head of HR. 

If anyone who is considering joining Unite at Bury MBC has any problems they can contact the Unite Organiser Mark Doyle on 07739 08483 or on mark.doyle@unitetheunion.org