Fresh developments in Bin Tax Campaign

dublin | bin tax / household tax / water tax | news report

Thursday October 30, 2003 16:03

by Chekov - WSM & Anti-Bin Tax campaign

Collins Avenue blockaded & SIPTU vote for Strike

There were blockades this morning on depots across the city. Most of them were called off when police arrived but the Collins avenue blockade is continuing now. In other news SIPTU bin-workers have voted "overwhelmingly" in support of industrial action over an unrelated matter.

This should give fresh impetus to the anti-bin tax campaign. The Bin workers will be picketing all the depots next Thursday morning. Lets get a load of bin-tax campaigners out there to support them. That'll really put the frighteners on the council as a victory in this strike will really give the workers confidence to stand up to the council and refuse to implement non-collection.

From Ireland.com

Bin collections in Dublin are facing further disruption next week in a dispute unconnected to the recent anti-bin charge controversy.

SIPTU has served strike notice on Dublin City Council in what it says is a dispute in support of colleagues in the recycling firm Oxigen Environmental.

The union said more than 200 workers in the council's cleansing section had voted "overwhelmingly" to take industrial action in support of colleagues at Oxigen who are in dispute over employment rights.

SIPTU said Oxigen workers had been in dispute with management since October 14th over their right to be represented by a trade union and over their terms and conditions of employment.

Some 56 people employed by Oxigen to carry out green bin collections and other duties have been picketing three depots for the past three weeks.

It claimed many of them had been "harrassed" by management once it was known they had joined the union.

Mr Paul Smyth, SIPTU branch secretary, said the union has served a week's notice on Dublin City Council.

"The initial action will take the form of a half day's work stoppage on the morning of Thursday November 6th, during which there will be no bin collection," he said.

Mr Smyth said SIPTU had requested meetings with management to discuss a variety of issues over the past three years, but that the company had "continually refused to respond to our request".

"The workers want professional trade union representation, an end to bullying and harrassment, the implementation of the EU Working Time Directive and proper sick pay and pension schemes."

Mr Smyth said Oxigen management had refused to allow the matter to go before the Labour Relations Commission and instead offered €1,000 to each employee in back money and talked of bonuses and wage increases "as soon as the union served strike notice".

He said Oxigen had recently sent letters to workers apologising for how they had been treated and offering them increases in their basic salaries. However, the company continued to refuse to allow them their basic right to be represented by a union.

Mr Smyth said the local authorities, including Dublin City Council, could not shirk their responsibilities on the basis that Oxigen was a private firm. The green bin service had been sub-contracted out to Oxigen under a Public Private Partnership arrangement, he said.

"What we are saying to them is: 'You have a role to play and you cannot wash your hands of this.'"

Workers will protest outside Dublin City Council's headquarters at Wood Quay in Dublin on November 6th.

Oxigen was not immediately available to comment on the dispute. However, Dublin City Council said it expects to issue a statement later this afternoon.

From RTE.IE

Anti waste charge campaigners are continuing to blockade Dublin City Council's depot in Collins Avenue in North Dublin.

Protesters had earlier blockaded all four of the city council's depots but the council says most of its trucks are now collecting rubbish as normal.

Protesters also blockaded South Dublin County Council's depot in Ballymount, delaying rubbish collection for about an hour. However, a spokesman for the council said the protesters had been moved on after the gardaí were called.

South Dublin County Council also said it would be removing bins from several thousand people who had not paid waste charges in Lucan, Clondalkin and Templeogue.