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Strike leaves 8,000 bins full
7:10am Friday 18th July 2008
By James Connell »
AN ANGRY dad is refusing to pay his council tax after binmen went on strike and rubbish collections were cancelled.
Jon Barras is furious that his family’s recycling rubbish was not collected from his Worcester home yesterday.
About 8,000 out of 40,000 city homes (20 per cent) did not get their fortnightly bin collection yesterday and Wednesday after several bin lorry drivers joined the Unison strike over pay.
Mr Barras, aged 42, of Bishop’s Avenue, off Merriman’s Hill Road, Worcester, himself a lorry driver, has now cancelled his £122 council tax direct debit for July which he says is roughly the same cost of paying to have the waste removed privately.
He will pay Worcester City Council only if it agrees to shift the rubbish within the next three days after staff at the customer service centre told him he would now have to wait another fortnight to have it taken away.
Father-of-two Mr Barras also said he had asked the city council for bags to put recycling rubbish in as the green wheelie bin is now already full.
Mr Barras said: “I have been warned I could be done for non-payment of council tax but I have not had a pay rise in four years and I pay my council tax for rubbish to be removed. If they’re not going to remove it, they should pay for me to do it.
“I’m fuming about this. The hard-working people are suffering at the moment but they still expect me to pay my council tax at the end of the month.”
Mr Barras is also concerned that the recycling rubbish will become a fire risk if it is not collected, particularly as he has two children, aged 12 and 19 months.
Mr Barras also said a council worker mistakenly gave him the telephone number of Coun Bob Peachey, who is no longer a Worcester city councillor.
Mike Harrison, head of cleaner and greener at Worcester City Council, said the rubbish had not been collected on certain routes but the strike meant there were three drivers not in work on Wednesday and two on Thursday.
So far the city council has received 100 requests for green bags as wheelie bins fill up.
The areas affected included Rainbow Hill, Astwood Road, Lansdowne Road, Arboretum, Sansome Walk, Green Lane and Merriman’s Hill Road.
Collections were not cancelled by Wychavon District Council or Malvern Hills District Council.
But Adrian Gregson, county branch secretary for UNISON, defended the strike and estimated that as many as 60 per cent of the 5,000 members countywide refused to cross the picket line yesterday.
He also said that he believed more people had stayed off work yesterday than on Wednesday as they realised “the error of their ways” after coming into work on the first day of the strike.
He added: “Our main concern is that the employers take a rational view and come back with another offer.”
Your Say Your Worcester
Logik, Worcester says...
9:25am Fri 18 Jul 08
City Council recycling collections Affected by strike action
"Due to industrial action, 2 main domestic rounds are not collecting green recycling bins today (Thursday 17 July).
The rounds are Nos. 1 and 5 which affects the areas of:
Rainbow Hill / Astwood Road / Lansdowne Road and most roads off.
Sansome Place / Arboretum / Sansome Walk / Chestnut Walk / White Ladies area / Flag Meadow Walk / St Georges Lane North / Merrimans Hill Road / Green Lane and most roads off these areas.
Householders should keep their recycling until their next green bin collection. Recycling teams will collect extra recycling placed in sacks at the side of the bin on the next collection".
On a previous article I made reference to a conflict of interests. It would seem that Cllr Gregson is a Councillor for Rainbow Hill ward, which it seems was one of the areas affected by this strike action.
How does he balance his union activities with those of him representing the interests of his constituents, seeing as the strike action he so vehemently supports and encourages, has had a direct impact on those people he represents in not having their bins emptied.
If it was me affected, I think I might nip round and empty my bin on his doorstep. And what's the betting that little truck the council has pops round to empty Cllr Gregson's bin so that he is not inconvenienced by his own actions.
Cllr Gregson goes on to say:-
"He also said that he believed more people had stayed off work yesterday than on Wednesday as they realised “the error of their ways” after coming into work on the first day of the strike."
You need to look at the error of your own ways Cllr Gregson. You have acted in direct conflict and against the best interests of your constituents and the city council, although I suppose you don't really care having just recently got a new 4 year term. Frankly, you need to decide just who you wish to represent and then resign from the other.
Vox populi, Worcester says...
1:17pm Fri 18 Jul 08
You seem to casually ignore the workers who get offered a pathetic pay-rise in the light of a credit-crunch struggling to make ends meet. Leaving a job is not that simple as suggested above- open your eyes - think pensions, ages, qualifications etc etc
I can see both sides - we all struggle to make ends meet and all pay our tax expecting to get a service. If strike action is the only route open to them....
I am sure the inconvience isn't that great - how about visiting the tip yourself or have we got that lazy?!
english1000, Worcester says...
3:07pm Fri 18 Jul 08
Alan2, Worcester says...
4:17pm Fri 18 Jul 08
People around myself are angry, not so much because the hard up workers are on strike because I and I know others have a degree of sympathy for them. What they are angry about is the fact that FOR A WHOLE MONTH, rubbish will not be collected, they have not been provided with suitable bags, (on phoning to complain, my neighbour was told that specifically, only white "clear" plastic bags would be collected.)
We are lucky in that it was the green wheelies not collected, but a month before another collection is still absolutely outrageous. Had it been the black bins left for a month I can assure the Council that the screams of anger and outrage would have been loud and long.
Adrian Gregson needs to get his mates in the Government to give the workers the rise that they deserve. We want no more flannel, chicanery and deceit from him in trying to make out that it is the Council to blame when his Government have put a below inflation ceiling on pay rises for the Public Sector workers.
Common Sense, Pershore says...
6:35pm Fri 18 Jul 08
Take your stuff to the tip and deduct it from your Council Tax - it's not that difficult. It's all itemised.
If more, or most people did this, things might change.
Having said that - our Pershore binmen are always brilliant (so far - fingers crossed!) - but I sympathise with others not so fortunate.
(I believe B'ham has a fair few problems with rubbish collection - so I am told!)
So life in the country and good old "rural England" is not "all bad"!
mack18, worcester says...
3:20pm Wed 23 Jul 08
Your sayYour Worcester
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FULL: Jon Barras is furious his family’s recycling rubbish was not collected from his Worcester home yesterday. Picture by Simon Rogers. (29458404)
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chrisnewmanuk, Worcester says...
8:25am Fri 18 Jul 08