DUBLIN CITY Council’s 110 binmen lifted their last bags and wheelie bins yesterday after almost 150 years of the local authority cleaning the capital’s streets.
As of Monday, all the city’s household and business waste will be collected by Greyhound Recycling, the private waste operator which bought the business in December.
“It’s an emotional day for the men,” said Pat Nolan, inspector at Davitt Road depot, just before 6am yesterday. Twenty-two men – seven van drivers and 15 crew – turned up for their last shift, and none of them was happy. Anger, fear and anxiety predominated.
Ronald Sherlock, a binman for 40 years, described the situation he and his colleagues are in as “a disgrace”. “The council wants me to sign a form saying I’ll move where they put me. If I don’t sign it’s deemed a resignation. I haven’t signed it. I won’t sign it until I know where I’m going, what my terms and conditions will be.”
Desmond Maloney, 32 years a binman, has “loved” the job. “I started sweeping with a cart and worked my way up through the panels to bin collector.”
He liked the hours. The council’s binmen started at 6am and worked “task-to-finish” – without breaks. The time they finished at was down to weather conditions, how many bins are out, and how quickly they worked. “They almost always finish early, about noon,” said Mr Nolan, “which suits family life, kids coming home from school. Some of these men have arranged their whole lives around the hours.”
Council cleansing workers get an allowance of about €60 a week above general operatives’ wages to compensate them for the all-weather and dirty conditions. These men are set to lose this. “We’re getting a bad deal,” said Mr Maloney. “[The council] have kept us in the dark. They’re telling us we’re starting totally new jobs on Monday and we don’t know where, what our hours will be.”
As they arrived, each man, dressed in warm trousers, sweaters, high-viz jackets and woollen hats, was handed his last wage slip from the council cleansing department.
Yesterday, stapled to the envelope was a “pack” containing a letter instructing them to report for duty at 9am on Monday at the Civic Offices on Wood Quay, “to be given further information about the reassignment arrangements. Later in the week you will be given details of your new department and who you are to report to on the first day in your new role.”
“They’re treating us like slaves,” said a man in his 50s who did not want to be named. “They’re using us to fill in the gaps in other parts of the council.”
“We’ve to do training? What are we? Children going back to school?” asked Mr Sherlock.
Before heading out, the men met for about half an hour to discuss their options. There was talk of “missed opportunities”, of how they should have balloted for industrial action before Christmas, or sat in in the depot last week, keeping the lorries hostage. They derided both council management and their unions – Impact and Siptu. Shortly after 6.30am the seven crews set out. It was -1 degree, and still dark.
The heaviest truck was manned by Mr Maloney, from Drimnagh, and by Christy Hamilton and David Graham from Tallaght, with Paul Peacock from Clondalkin driving. They were to walk the streets of Portobello, Thomas Street, Oliver Bond, Bull Alley, Winetavern, Ross Road, the Iveagh Trust and Kevin Street, following the slow-moving truck, lifting and clearing rubbish. They would finish, for the last time, “about noon”. Dublin City Council said negotiations with Impact and Siptu about the men’s futures were ongoing.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES UNIONS TO MEET MANAGEMENT OVER TRANSFER
UNIONS REPRESENTING Dublin City Council's 110 binmen will meet council management on Monday morning on unresolved issues surrounding the transfer of the service to Greyhound Recycling.
At issue are the fact the men have no guarantees on their "cleansing allowance" of about €60 per week, paid to them since 1997 in recognition of adverse working conditions; changed working hours, and, the mens' redeployment. The majority want to remain in the Cleansing Department, collecting litter, sweeping and emptying street bins. They have been instructed to report to the Civic Offices on Monday for information.
They will meet Siptu and Impact officials at noon to hear a report on progress with negotiations.
Dublin's bins have been collected by publicly employed binmen since before 1883. In that year the men founded the Irish Municipal Employees' Trade Union, which later became Impact.
Greyhound Recycling said it will provide a seamless service for the council's 140,00 former customers. It is to freeze the current €100 annual standing charge, with a €6 charge per lift for black/grey bins and €2 per lift for each brown bins, for six months. It will implement a "small increase" to the lift fees in July. The standing charge must be paid in full by February 15th or bins will not be collected.
Those on waivers will not have to pay any standing charge for 2012. It is probable they will face a charge from 2013.
Bins are to be collected on the same day they are now in each area.
Greyhound does not recognise trade unions. A spokesman said its binmen start at 6.30am "and work a normal working day".
KITTY HOLLAND
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