a day ago
Rubbish collections delayed as binmen go on holiday
Rubbish collections are being delayed in London because of a staff shortage fuelled by binmen going on holiday.
Ealing council has declared a driver shortage and admitted it could start paying the remaining workers more to fill the gap.
The Labour-run authority said that although some staff were off sick, it expected the disruption to continue until September once holidays had finished.
On Sunday night, the Government warned the council that taxpayers 'rightly expect and rely on' regular waste collections and that it must continue to provide the 'vital' service.
Council tax bills went up across the borough in April, with charges increasing from £1,948 to £2,041 for the average Band D home. Those living in Band H homes, meanwhile, are now paying more than £4,000 in council tax.
The disruption comes as residents of Birmingham wait for a resolution to a dispute between the binmen's union and the council which has seen rubbish piling up for six months.
Ealing council said bin collection services were being deployed later than usual in a statement first issued to the Chiswick Calendar, a local news website. It added that any bins not collected on schedule would be prioritised the following day.
A council spokesman said: 'We are sorry about the delays that are occurring to bin collections due to driver shortage and the impact it is having on residents.
'This is because a number of staff are currently off sick and, in addition, as it is the summer holiday period many staff are on leave, which we anticipate lasting until September when the holidays have finished.'
The council said it was 'actively recruiting more staff' and that it employed a number of HGV drivers, who were 'highly sought after' by businesses that could offer them more money.
'This is an ongoing issue and we are reviewing salaries and other incentives for staff,' it added.
Susan Hall, leader of the London Assembly Conservatives, said bins going uncollected across the capital was 'absolutely outrageous'.
Ms Hall told The Telegraph: 'When you're paid to do a job, damn well do it and the people in charge of them, they need to be talked to as well.
'When you're running a company or a business, you have to make sure you've got a certain amount of staff in order to deliver the service you're providing.
'Just because these people work for a council, they assume they can do what they like. It's not good enough.'
A spokesman for the Ealing Conservatives said: 'Ealing Council should have foreseen driver shortages over the summer.
'We are monitoring the situation carefully, as it's critical that waste is promptly collected over the hot period.'
Earlier in the summer, residents in Croydon complained that their borough was filled with the 'persistent smell of decay' after waste management company Veolia failed to empty bins.
Veolia was given a £21.5m eight-year contract by the local authority in April but there have been complaints of bins going uncollected for as long as seven weeks.
The company apologised for having to re-route all kerbside collections, which it insisted would lead to 'more efficient' service in the long run but at the expense of short-term operations.
Rowena Davies, the Labour mayoral candidate in Croydon, said the service being provided was 'so shockingly disappointing'.
In Birmingham, rubbish continues to pile up as the dispute between the Unite trade union and the council in England's second city runs into a sixth month.
Talks between Unite and the Labour-run council are deadlocked, with the local authority having paid £8m in agency costs to keep a skeleton bin service running.
A Government spokesman said: 'Taxpayers rightly expect and rely on regular waste collections, and the government expects councils to continue providing this vital service to residents.
'Local communities deserve good public services which is why we've already made over £69 billion available this year to boost council finances, alongside more than £1bn for councils to improve recycling services.
'We will go further to reform the outdated funding system ensuring councils are funded fairly.'
