sent from former council worker & Unite member, Joe Bailey
UNITE has said last week’s victory in the
long running Birmingham bins dispute has protected a vital safety role.
The union said that the city council had accepted the refuse workers’
case and restored the grade 3 jobs, which are responsible for safety at
the rear of the refuse vehicles, leading to the suspension of the
industrial action. Unite said the union and the city council would hold
further talks at the conciliation service Acas to resolve outstanding
issues.
Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: “We are
very pleased that we have reached the stage where we can suspend the
industrial action while we hold further talks about the future of the
refuse service.” He added: “The council has addressed our members’
concerns, including the safeguarding of the grade 3 post that is vital
to the safety at the rear of the refuse vehicles. Unite also welcomes
the fact that our suspended rep is now returning to work.”
The vehicle
safety risks to the public and refuse workers has led to the
introduction of specific new laws in in the US. Last year, New York
State become the latest in the US to introduce a ‘slow down’ law to
protect garbage workers. Slow down laws had already been introduced in
11 other states over the last decade in response to distracted driving
that has led to sometimes fatal incidents for refuse collection workers.
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