Lovely Black Eyes & Agency Workers

by Brian Bamford
 Health & Safety in the Waste Manager's Office?

PEALS of laughter greeted the announcement at a meeting of the Unite Greater Manchester Activists last February, that a waste disposal manager had ended-up sporting a black-eye after an interview with an agency worker at Bury Council's Bradley Fold Waste Depot.  Last January an agency worker had been querying his own status, having been 8-years a temp working for Bury MBC on insecure tenure and unable to get a mortgage with a wife who’d just given birth.

The complaining agency worker, who'd done an 8-year unsecure stint, told Northern Voices that Mr. Stuart had claimed in justification that there were agency workers in other local authorities in Greater Manchester who had done up to 15-years as agency workers.

No-one knows for sure what took place next in the office of the waste manager, Glenn Stuart, but there seems to have been an altercation which resulted in a complaint to the police on the 23^rd, January from Mr. Stuart who ended up with a black-eye. Northern Voices contacted the Greater Manchester Police in April, and asked if the police were investigating this as an allegation of common assault and requesting the crime or log number on this case?

Although it's clear that this case was reported to the police it seems that it turned out to be 'one person's word against another', because we're told that Mr. Stuart keeps the blinds closed in his office.

The secretive Mr. Stuart has a thing about privacy, and doesn't like the fact that in 2016 some folk in Bury took to photographing the town's overflowing bins.  At that time on May 1st, 2016 The Mail on Sunday journalist, Martin Delgardo, reporting on the management style of Stuart in a headline wrote: 'Bin tsar who slashed collections to one every THREE WEEKS tries to crack down on opposition by banning photographs of overflowing bins'.


However, after the 'violent' incident at Bradley Fold, a letter was sent out to binmen and other members of staff reminding everyone of the importance of health and safety and the Council's commitment to a safe environment.  There is talk of a 'them and us attitude' in the Bradley Fold waste depot, and some cynics among the workforce are muttering about a cover-up as to what really went on behind the Venetian blinds of the waste manager's office last January.

As the headline 'Bin Tsar' in the Mail on Sunday report in 2016 above suggests, Mr. Stuart has a reputation as something of a zealot in the realm of rubbish collection, which he seems to covert.  

As the Mail on Sunday stated he was then warning that he may get tougher still to force the people of Bury into recycling, saying:  ‘People have been given ample opportunity to fall in line. We need to formulate a plan of action in terms of enforcement.’

The scheme’s opponents claimed it had led to an increase in rat infestation.   With Iain Gartside, leader of the Conservative group on Bury council, saying:  ‘It’s an absolutely disgrace, with overflowing bins and increased fly-tipping.’

Meanwhile in last week's Bury Times the leader of Bury Council, Labour Councillor Rishi Shori said:  'Fly-tipping is a growing problem in the borough, although the council has allocated additional resources to tackle the problem in three main ways, focusing on prevention:  the installation of CCTV cameras in fly-tipping hotspots, enforcement and, where possible, by removing fly-tipped items, although this is becoming increasingly more difficult due to the budget pressures we are under.' 

Recently we can't help but notice that the 'installation of CCTV cameras in fly-tipping hotspots' has had the consequence of shifting the flytipping from the town centres and urban areas of Bury to the more posh, leafy zones like Tottington and Stubbins.  No wonder the Tories are upset.

******

Bullying, Positive Behaviour & Culture

ALMOST a year ago, a report was disclosed to the Bury Times that claimed one in ten council staff at Bury MBC had been bullied in the last 18-months up to March 2016, and a quarter felt unable to cope with their work demands.
Last Monday (23rd, January 2017), a body entitling itself the Positive Behaviour Task Force met to consider the situation.
The Bury Positive Behaviour Task Force is in theory composed of representatives of the unions UNISON and Unite the Union, as well as representatives of management and HR (Human Relations).  Initially the Unite union which is the biggest union at Bradley Fold Waste Depot, was not invited to participate on this Task Force, more recently however, after complaints from the Unite Commercial Branch, a full time officer was incorporated onto the Task Force but has yet to attend.
In a response to a question about the level of alleged bullying up to March last year a Council spokesperson said:  'The Council takes any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and we place the utmost importance on dignity and respect for all our employees... (I)n response to this question 26 Dignity at Work complaints have been investigated in the past three years (6 since April 2015) and there have been 18 cases which have been handled via the mediation route (4 since April 2015).'
The spokesperson then added:
'In terms of taking action, a positive action taskforce has been established along with an Employee focus group to make our policies work effectively on the ground in practice.  We have a further survey planned for the autumn which will be anonymous as are all of the staff surveys we carry.'*
Speaking to the Bury Times (2nd, March 2016), Labour Councillor, Sandra Walmsley, said:
'I don't think there is a culture problem at the council with bullying.  If that was the case, we would have known about it before the survey.... I am hoping the taskforce will get to the bottom of this issue.'
At Bradley Fold Waste Depot there has been various complaints of forms of harassment over the last decade or so, yet at the time of writing the Unite union which represents the bin-men has not had an update or as yet seen any of the minutes of the meetings of the Positive Behaviour Task Force.  Nor, as yet, has the Bury Unite Commercial Branch representing the Bury bin-men seen the results of the 'further survey planned for the autumn (2016)' promised by Bury MBC.
This must be troubling.  
*  https://councildecisions.bury.gov.uk/documents/.../Questions%20responses%20web.p

Some Consequences of Bin Collection Cuts

Letter to the Rochdale Observer; published 2nd, April 2016:

28th, March 2016.

 

Dear Editor,

 

The news that the number of bin complaints in Rochdale have nearly doubled in the three months since three-weekly bin collections began last October, ought not to come as a surprise (see Rochdale Ob. Sat. 26^th, March 2016).    Over a year ago my Bury Unite Commercial Branch predicted that there would be an increased in missed bins owing to overflowing bins with raised bin lids, and that there would be rise in side waste and fly-tipping. 

 

This kind of thing is happening throughout Greater Manchester; two weeks ago in the Heywood Advertiser (10^th, March 2016) there were reports of residents calling for a ‘clampdown’ on fly-tipping in Heywood , and in the Bury Times earlier this year there was coverage of a Freedom of Information request from me which showed that complaints about vermin in Bury had increased by 18.16% in the first year of three-weekly collections by Bury MBC up to November 2015.  Bury MBC being the pioneer council in cutting bin collections of non-recyclable material.

 

In Bury, the council has blamed the public for failing to dispose of their rubbish properly, but at a full Rochdale council meeting earlier this year Councillor Peter Rush complained that the public were slow at grasping the process of recycling, and that he hoped that the younger generation would educate their parents in good environmental practice.   Despite these troubles the Rochdale Council bosses are still claiming '[t]he new bin collection service has been a great success'.

 

Yours sincerely,

Brian Bamford:  Secretary of Bury Unite Commercial Branch North West 353.

Local Vermin & the Bury Times!

Dear Editor (Bury Times),

WHILE members of the Bury Unite Commercial Branch welcomes the letter of support from Councillor Dorothy Gunther (Opinion Thursday, Feb. 11^th, 2016), we fear that the concerns of  binmen, councillors and residents about the increased sightings of vermin in Bury since the introduction of the new bin collection scheme will not have any impact unless we all speak more loudly about the dangers.   This will require something of a campaign in the forthcoming months.

Naturally, the vermin of Bury do not have a vote, but if they did, surely they would vote for the Labour councillor who pronounced in July 2014 that ‘There is no evidence there will be a detrimental impact on public health such as vermin, unpleasant smells and fly tipping’ as a consequence of the new system. 

Politics often involves some self-deception, and political wishful thinking; consequently the Labour leaders in Bury have been more inclined to listen to managers and officials, who may wish to promote their own agendas, rather than hear the views of their own rank and file binmen.   The citizens of Bury deserve better than this.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Bamford:  Secretary of Bury Unite Commercial Branch

Bury Council blame public for rat rise

The report below is taken from

 today's Bury Times (the headline is ours),
and is the result of a Freedom of Information

request by the Bury Unite Branch:

RATS are being spotted more often because bins are being emptied less often, union bosses claim. Leaders of Bury Unite commercial branch, which represents bin men who work across the borough, made a Freedom of Information request to Bury Council asking about vermin complaints before and after three-weekly bin collections were introduced in October 14.
In the 12 months up to the change there were 1,514 complaints, compared with 1,789 in the 12 months after.

The branch's secretary Brian Bamford said:
'This represents a 18.16 per-cent rise since the change. What the public deserve is some honesty from Bury Council about the downside of what is happening when they introduce changes to like the three-weekly collections.  There must be no suggestion of a cover-up on these matters.'
Mr Bamford was referring to previous comments made by Elton councillor Susan Southworth when she said:
'There is no evidence there will be a detrimental impact on public health such as vermin, unpleasant smells and fly tipping.'
One bin man, who asked not to be named in fear of losing his job, said:
'There are definitely more rats and flies now.  I don't think they can solve the problem unless they go back to fortnightly collections.  When we are out on the rounds, we get complaints from people who say they are not getting value for money from their council tax.'
A Bury Council spokesman said there was no clear correlation between the frequency of collections and the number of vermin reports.
He added that complaints fell when fortnightly collections were introduced in 2012/13.
The spokesman said:
'There are a number of reasons why the number of incidents we deal with may have increased last year, such as having a mild winter.  Unfortunately, there are a number of cases where irresponsible people simply throw all their rubbish into the back street rather than disposing of it properly. This is in sharp contrast to the majority of residents, whose efforts have led to Bury having its highest ever recycling rate.  We thank them, and urge everyone to put the right stuff in the right bin.'
http://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/14252902.Bury_bin_men_say_they_are_seeing_more_rats_since_3_week_collections_were_introduced/ ),

Bury Times & Bin Collections

ON Thursday, a letter in the Bury Times was critical

of a claim made by Bury Council in the previous issue
that claimed that the Council had only had '18 formal
complaints' from the public, and that this suggested that
there was customer satisfaction with the local bin collections.

THE Manchester Evening News (MEN) on the 20th, October, ran a story entitled 'More than 10,000 complaints made about missed bin collection since start of year'.  The article referred to bins left unemptied owing to refuse collectors discovering overflowing or overweight bins or simply incorrectly used bins.  But while showing an increase in complaints the article warned that the data applied  'only to Manchester, Salford, Wigan, Trafford, Stockport and Tameside councils.  Bolton, Bury, Oldham and Rochdale said they couldn’t collate their figures to respond.'

Yet, somehow Bury Council managed to rustle up some figures shortly afterwards because Sarah Yates was able to report days later in the Bury Times on the 25th, Oct. 2015, that 'Bury Council chiefs have received more positive feedback about its three-weekly bin collections than complaints.'

Thus Bury Council, the first council in England to collect rubbish bins once every three weeks, is now able to announce according to the Bury Times that 'whilst it received 18 formal complaints, there were 65 compliments registered since the grey bin collection regime began a year ago'.

Consequently, those Jeremiah's like NV, some binmen and local residents, who voiced their concerns of overflowing bins, rat revivals and insect infestations have now seemingly been proved wrong.  Indeed, now councils like Rochdale and elsewhere have eagerly followed in the footsteps of Bury MBC.

The question remains as to why Bury couldn't collate their figures in time to respond to the MEN Freedom of Information request a few days earlier?  Especially given that the number of negative complaints at merely 18, were so tiny compared with almost everywhere else?  Surely they can count up to 18?

In the current Bury Times, Ian Coates from Radcliffe, declares:

'FOLLOWING the story in last week's paper about the three-weekly collections and the council claiming to have had only 18 formal complaints, they are in cloud cuckoo land.  If they actually think people want the three-weekly collections they are deluded.  They are seeing whet they want to see.  Why do they not go on to Facebook and look what the people of Bury and Radcliffe are really saying.'

Only a week ago an ex-policeman was voted into the Tottington Ward of Bury as a conservative councillor, and he fought on the platform of restoring more regular collections of grey bins.

 



Bury Unite's Ethical Stand

Struggling Against Surveillance & Blacklisting

FROM about 2005, the Bury Unite Commercial Branch became involved in a dispute with Bury Council when the T&G shop-steward at Bradley Fold Waste Disposal Depot, Joe Cleary, was sacked on the pretext of accepting a bribe for the removal of some trade waste:  Bury Council at that time, used a security officer to use a hand-held cam-corder to film a working team of Bury bin-men under the RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act).  The bribe which the sacked bin-men team were alleged to have accepted from an Asian shopkeeper was a bottle of Strawberry Volvic. 

In the end Bury MBC spent a large sum on legal costs fighting to dismiss the men and finally ended-up settling by paying a five-figure sum to Mr. Cleary.  The Bury branch of what is now Unite backed Joe Cleary throughout his fight with the Council, as did the Unite union officer Kathy Rutherford. 

I well remember talking to Kevin Coyne, the then North West regional officer of what is now Unite, and he encouraged me to continue our branch's struggle against surveillance.  He did say something of interest at the time when I told him that Bury Council was under Conservative control, he said 'Oh, that's good for us!' as it doesn't reflect badly on the Labour Party. 

Does party politics influence trade union activism at the top?  Are full time trade union functionaries less likely to oppose if a local Council is ruled by a Labour majority? 

Whatever the case this predilection for party politics didn't impact upon the moral integrity and ethics of the Bury Unite Branch.  After a militant shop steward such as Joe Cleary was dismissed using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the Bury Unite branch put in a series of Freedom of Information requests to Bury MBC and critical reports followed in the Bury Times written by the journalist Dave Thomson, and another report in the Mail on Sunday.  Because of all the bad publicity arising from the Joe Cleary case it appears that Bury MBC is no longer using this type of crude covert surveillance.   

Because of this traumatic history of involvement in covert surveillance with Bury MBC, Bury Unite Commercial Branch has since taken to supporting the Manchester electricians in their own campaign against the covert surveillance with regard to the blacklist in the British building trade.   Bury Unite branch has done this through its affiliation to Tameside Trade Union Council.  Our latest involvement as a branch has been through the secretary's joint-authorship of the book 'Boys on the Blacklist',  and now the motion on ethical procurement presented to the North West Local Authority Regional Industrial Sector Committee (Risc) on the 5^th,  March 2015.   

Unfortunately, for some reason that has yet to be fully explained, the North West Local Authority Risc, under the distinguished chairmanship of Sidney Graves and Deputy Chair Nick Parnell, failed to be able to move the motion.   An investigation into what happened has now been set-up by the North West Finance & General Purpose Committee. 

It seems that in the real world that ethics and politics are not very comfortable companions.