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Reporting local life since 1854
Thursday, February 9, 2012
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TOKEN COLLECT – TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY: TURN TO PAGE 24 Union hits back at pay cut proposals to save £395,000
BIN MEN TO VOTE ON STRIKE ACTION
BY ALEX CAMPBELL
alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
BIN men are set to vote on indefinite strike action which could see residents left without collections for weeks. Stoke-on-Trent’s waste collectors face having their contracts torn up in council cuts which will see 28 team leaders forced to apply for labouring jobs and take a £90-per-week pay cut. And 24 labouring workers in waste collection will also be forced to drop pay bands at a cost of £45-per-week. The measures would save £395,000 as part of £24 million savings in 2012/13. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has shelved plans to force bin men to switch from five-day weeks to three-day blocks of 12-hour shifts in a “concession” to workers. It means residents will not have evening and weekend bin collections until April 2013 at the earliest. But members of the GMB union in Stoke-on-Trent
have agreed unanimously they have a case for strike action. Bin collectors based at the Cromer Road depot will vote on a date yet to be fixed on a walkout unless a last minute deal is agreed. Team leaders currently earn less than £21,500-per-year and labourers less than £20,000. A strike could begin before the end of the month with a picket held to coincide with the crucial budget-setting meeting on February 23. A union source told The Sentinel: “The lads are up in arms and want an indefinite strike, not just a one-dayer. “On top of this pay cut, they are having to deal with Government changes to their pensions and a rise in council tax. The council is pushing its own people into poverty.” The dispute could also create complications for the ruling Labour group before the budget vote, as a number of NEGOTIATIONS: City Council leader Mohammed Pervez.
the council’s 34 Labour members are understood to back the unions. Conservative and Independent members are already expected to vote against the budget. Members of the Unite union are still considering their options over a £2 million attack on council pay and perks, which will cut mileage allowances and free parking. Council leader Mohammed Pervez, said: “Negotiations are ongoing with the unions and we are making progress. We will take a calm and measured approach in negotiating our position.” Chief executive John van de Laarschot said: “The concession gives us a window for ongoing dialogue to come up with the best solution. “We need to have a really strong debate about what makes sense; as well as an understanding that some of the practices are a bit old-fashioned and need to be changed, which I don’t think they will challenge.”
Would you support a strike? Email us at letters@thesentinel.co.uk
TAX PLEA: Mike Cunningham wanted to recruit more officers.
Top boss loses tax rise battle CHIEF Constable Mike Cunningham has lost a plea for residents to pay extra tax to fund the recruitment of more officers and bring an end to forced retirements. Staffordshire Police Authority voted narrowly to freeze the force’s 13 per cent portion of council tax rates. The Government will now give the force a one-off grant of £2 million, equivalent to a three per cent increase. Mr Cunningham asked the authority to levy an actual three per cent increase, about £3.50-per-year for Band A properties, which would have raised £2 million-per-year indefinitely instead of one lump sum.
NEW YEAR JOY FOR SELLERS STRIKE VOTE: City bin men at work.
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