Bromley binmen set to strike after Veolia Environmental Services fires four

11:53am Thursday 4th October 2012 in Bromley By Robert Fisk

Bromley binmen held unofficial industrial action this morning Bromley binmen held unofficial industrial action this morning

BROMLEY could be facing a prolonged series of strikes this winter after four binmen were sacked yesterday (October 3).

The threat comes after around 100 workers held a protest at the Veolia Environmental Services depot in Baths Road, Bromley, this morning.

They refused to leave the depot until their union official Onay Kasab met with the management about the issue.

This meant the crews did not leave until around 10am, about three hours after most of them were supposed to have left.

The dispute arose after their four colleagues, who had around 100 years experience between them, were fired for gross misconduct after an internal investigation.

They were photographed by a Bromley Council worker while putting a bag of garden waste in to the back of their refuse vehicle.

Workers at the protest told News Shopper their colleagues had been asked to do this by a homeowner and did not take any money in exchange.

But it is understood Veolia, which collects household rubbish on behalf of Bromley Council, believes money did change hands so fired the crew.

Unite official Onay Kasab has warned of possible binmen strikes

Mr Kasab (pictured), the regional officer for Unite, said: “We are not into Mickey Mouse one day strikes.

“If we get a yes vote for our strike ballot we will be taking prolonged action until the men are reinstated.

“We think it’s ridiculous that over this allegation that they should be dismissed.

“They are exceptionally hard working lads and they are a loss to Veolia.

“The employers need to take note of this morning’s action and we will get a yes vote for strike action.”

Mr Kasab added: “The witness evidence for the allegation isn’t there, let alone the argument you should sack someone for this type of offence.

“Is it reasonable to dismiss binmen for this allegation but on the most minimal of evidence?

“That being said, we do not believe that even if they were found guilty of this allegation, we do not believe they should be dismissed.”

If the binmen say yes to strike action the strikes could start in mid-November.

A Veolia Environmental Services spokesman said: “The unofficial stoppage of work this morning was caused by a local issue relating to an incident involving some employees.

"All services went out by mid-morning and collections took place as normal.

"We will continue to consult and work closely with our employees and the union regarding this matter going forward.”

 

 

Comments(14)

Eagles_Man says...
3:02pm Thu 4 Oct 12

"even if they were found guilty of this allegation, we do not believe they should be dismissed"

We have to pay the council to have green waste collected. Thus, IF money did change hands and go into the binmen's pockets then it's effectively stealing from their employer (Veolia/Bromley) - so why does the union guy think theft from an employer isn't grounds for instant dismissal?

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goldenbroomboy says...
5:32pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Eagles_Man wrote:
"even if they were found guilty of this allegation, we do not believe they should be dismissed"

We have to pay the council to have green waste collected. Thus, IF money did change hands and go into the binmen's pockets then it's effectively stealing from their employer (Veolia/Bromley) - so why does the union guy think theft from an employer isn't grounds for instant dismissal?
So some binmenn did a favour for an old lady, & some snide clown from Bromley Council makes an allegation which another clown from Veolia HR looking for promotion uses an excuse to look like a toughie.

But striking, no. The GMB would not be striking, they would be taking Veolia to an Industrial Tribunal. But then Onay is a member of the Socialist Party (aka Militant Tendency).

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Peony says...
9:06pm Thu 4 Oct 12

I think that if these four men offer to pay the money back then they should keep their jobs. After all that is what the politicians did when they were caught with their hands in the till.

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leemUz says...
9:34pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Maybe Bromley Council should tbe taking pictures of the fly tippers who regulaly dump rubbish in well known certain arear's and bring these to justice? Why pick on hard working people, who help an old lady out. There can not be a person in the whole of Bromley or the whole country who at one time has not sneaked a bit of garden rubbish in their household waste. The festive season will be upon us soon am I allowd to give the dustman a tip or do i send it to bromley Council????

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He knows says...
10:46pm Thu 4 Oct 12

There are clear rules of what constitutes gross misconduct and therefore they should be sacked. Every employee that went on unofficial strike this morning should also be sacked and re employed on new contracts. Remember, when we have to work a 40 hour week, we work 40 hours for our pay. The dust men only work a quarter of what they are paid to do. The only time they give us a good service is from November.... When Christmas is coming

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Polly Staight says...
8:49am Fri 5 Oct 12

Yes... shame on these irresponsible bin-men who now only call once every two weeks to empty my bi....

Oh...

That's what they've been told to do...

I see...

Yes... shame on these irresponsible councils that don't bother to provide a proper and basic service, but choose to sack a couple of bin-men and risk shutting down the whole system, because an individual bin-man chose to help out a ratepayer.

I think these councils are forgetting...


...WHO THE CUSTOMER IS!

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bothered44 says...
8:55am Fri 5 Oct 12

Whats happened to common sense in this country... they were helping an elderly lady who had no other means of disposing of her 'garden waste'... can nobody do a good deed anymore with out people jumping on the moral high horse!

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Eagles_Man says...
9:29am Fri 5 Oct 12

Oh, I see, it was an 'elderly lady' being helped out was it? OK then, reinstate them immediately! Lucky for them it wasn;t a middle-aged woman they were 'doing a favour for', or a thirty-something bloke, or one or their own mates....

Come on, this 'little old lady' line sounds a bit too convenient. How do we know that's what it was - from one commenter on the other article? I heard that this thing's been rumbling on for some time already, so clearly we don't know the whole story, only what the union is deciding to put out there.

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goldenbroomboy says...
10:09am Fri 5 Oct 12

Eagles_Man wrote:
Oh, I see, it was an 'elderly lady' being helped out was it? OK then, reinstate them immediately! Lucky for them it wasn;t a middle-aged woman they were 'doing a favour for', or a thirty-something bloke, or one or their own mates....

Come on, this 'little old lady' line sounds a bit too convenient. How do we know that's what it was - from one commenter on the other article? I heard that this thing's been rumbling on for some time already, so clearly we don't know the whole story, only what the union is deciding to put out there.
Typical Palace fan reaction. I pay council tax too, and I don't want my money spent on some snide creep trying to fire binmen for helping somebody out. As leemUz has mentioned above, is the message being given that if we tip binmen at Xmas they are going to be fired?

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Guess who ;) AGAIN ! says...
11:24am Fri 5 Oct 12

Prima donnas the lot of them.

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plasticfantastic says...
7:47pm Sat 6 Oct 12

Binmen do take money to take unofficial waste, they always have and they always will, it's gone on since those suits in the company were working on the bins themselves. Having said that, they have probably never set foot on a bin wagon.

This is a perk of the job getting the odd couple of quid for taking something that they really shouldn't. Come on Veolia, see sense, re-employ them and put a stop to this jobsworth management.

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He knows says...
9:04pm Sat 6 Oct 12

It's not just a case of them helping someone out. Think about it. If every crew is doing'the odd job' then they are not working. If you remove 1 vehicle off the savings for the Bromley resident breaks down as: 1 dustcart £150k 1 crews wages: approx 100k per year. Extra cost for the 'odd job' which then goes to land fill: name your price as this is always going up. Cost the veolia charge the council :iin the region of 5m per year. Cost that we then have to pay in council tax: rises again. So please don't feel sorry that they got the sack, they all know the rules about doing private jobs for cash and they know the consequences if they get caught. Dont forget overtime costs to catch up the work that they havent collected whilst unoffical stike. Do we honestly believe that these employees didnt have union representstion whilst having there hearing? As for the Xmas tips, approx 1-2k per person on each crew which they are supposed to declare, which of course they don't. So by wanting them to be re employed they continue to take money from all of our pockets

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Eagles_Man says...
5:21pm Tue 9 Oct 12

goldenbroomboy wrote:
Eagles_Man wrote:
Oh, I see, it was an 'elderly lady' being helped out was it? OK then, reinstate them immediately! Lucky for them it wasn;t a middle-aged woman they were 'doing a favour for', or a thirty-something bloke, or one or their own mates....

Come on, this 'little old lady' line sounds a bit too convenient. How do we know that's what it was - from one commenter on the other article? I heard that this thing's been rumbling on for some time already, so clearly we don't know the whole story, only what the union is deciding to put out there.
Typical Palace fan reaction. I pay council tax too, and I don't want my money spent on some snide creep trying to fire binmen for helping somebody out. As leemUz has mentioned above, is the message being given that if we tip binmen at Xmas they are going to be fired?
I don't know their rules around tips, but there is a big difference between pocketing money in return for a service, which should go to your employer, and accepting a gratuity.

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Ex services says...
7:45pm Wed 24 Oct 12

To those not aware,there is more to this story than meets the eye,there are certain council staff (high up there)too I might add,that have had lorrys round their houses with crews clearing rubbish and garden waste,and paying the crews for doing so,if those men were sacked for doing this job for an old woman,then surely those office staff should practice what they preach and not do the same themselves?the council staff and violia staff are as guilty as the men they sacked!!

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