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BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Unite and GMB unions clash over Sheffield bin strike
Two trade unions are embroiled in a row almost a year after Sheffield bin workers walked out on and the GMB have clashed over union recognition at Veolia, which has the waste disposal contract for Sheffield City says Veolia has refused to sign a union recognition agreement with workers at the Lumley Street the GMB says the majority of workers are its members and accused Unite of "union busting". Unite has been approached to respond. Unite has presented a 6,000-name petition to the council, urging the authority to take action to find a resolution to the deadlock, which first saw workers walk out last officer Shane Sweeting said: "Residents have signed this petition and now local councillors must intervene to drag Veolia back to the negotiating table and bring this dispute to an end with Unite being recognised." But Peter Davies of the GMB issued a strongly worded said: "We have had a single trade union recognition agreement in place for over 23 years and GMB represents the vast majority of these workers."Those rights have been hard fought for over recent decades and our reps and members will not give them up. We have good terms and conditions."We won't give in to any union busting attempts whether that is by an employer or, sadly, another trade union." Veolia said an application by Unite for recognition had been rejected by the government's central arbitration committee in April.A spokesman said: "We are disappointed by Unite's protests."Veolia will always respect the right of every one of its employees to be a member of a trade union of their choice."Any changes to the existing agreement must be consented to by all parties, something GMB is not willing to do."We have been in constant dialogue with both unions and urge them to continue discussions in order to find a resolution to this inter-union dispute for our hard-working teams and residents."Sheffield City Council said the strike had had minimal impact on bin collections and Joe Otten, chair of the environmental services committee, said: "Veolia are willing to work with both unions however the GMB must approve this change and no agreement has been reached."The council has been clear that this dispute is between two unions."The impact has been minimised through careful management and the use of crew overtime."The council continues to encourage all parties to find a resolution." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Sheffield bin strikes to continue indefinitely, union says
Bin workers in Sheffield will remain on strike for "as long as it takes" for their union to be recognised by their employer, an organiser of the Unite union staged a demonstration outside City Hall as its dispute continued with employer Veolia about which union represents members have been on strike since last August, and regional officer Shane Sweeting said the workers were "steadfast and strong".Veolia said it had a long-standing agreement with the GMB union, which has majority membership and has been recognised since 2004. The action followed Veolia's refusal to sign a union recognition agreement with workers at the Lumley Street depot, Unite City Council and Veolia said at the time they were working to ensure "as little disruption as possible". According to Veolia, Unite represents approximately a quarter of the workforce, but Unite has previously disputed this figure, claiming it represents 80%.Mr Sweeting said Unite members wanted to be part of negotiations on subjects such as pay and said it already offered them "a voice and seat at the table", but they rejected the offer to continue pursuing company said it would not grant this, because rival union GMB would retaliate with its own Sweeting called this "absolutely farcical", because the majority of the workforce had "collectively signed that they will support recognition of their colleagues".However, GMB has protested against Unite being recognised, raising a complaint to the Trades Union Congress and a counter dispute with said Unite should "end this feud against a rival union and take the seat, rather than holding rallies and protests". Unite member Joel Mayfield said it was "not an easy decision" going on strike."We get hardship pay, but of course we lose money, we're not getting our full wage," he said."But sometimes you've got to think about the long-term and fundamental principle at stake."He said many workers had joined Unite after previously being part of GMB, because they were not satisfied with the representation they had he believed both should be recognised, so staff could choose between them."In other workplaces, including other Veolia sites, tripartite recognition isn't unusual."The unions work together for the benefit of their members, because it's a common cause."The GMB union has been contacted for comment. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
