Refuse workers in Sandwell walk out amid ongoing row over alleged bullying
Bin workers in Sandwell are staging a day of strike action amid a row over alleged bullying, health and safety and wage concerns.
More than 100 refuse collectors at Serco Sandwell walked out on Wednesday after claims the firm failed to address a management culture of "bullying".
The GMB Union said the company had issued a "torrent of lies" as refuse workers formed a picket at the Shidas Lane site in Oldbury.
Serco, which is contracted to run bin collections in Sandwell, had written to GMB asking for the strike to be called off – and apologised to people for the distribution.
The day of strike action meant garden collections for around 60,000 homes in the borough were pushed back until Saturday – to allow crews to prioritise domestic waste and recycling bin collections.
Justine Jones, GMB organiser said: “GMB members voted to give Serco a month to change their ways. The job is still unsafe. The bullying continues.
“Cowardly management at Serco Sandwell couldn’t even be bothered to face their own workers this morning to answer basic questions.
“Our members are furious that Serco won’t let them serve the families of Sandwell they’ve spent their careers helping.”
GMB also said the firm also failed to show up for its own question-and-answer session with workers on October 5 – instead sending written materials to union members.
Andrew Smith, regional operations manager at Serco, said: "We would like to offer our apologies to anyone whose collections may be affected and would ask you to continue to leave your bins out even if they are not collected on the day you expect.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our employees who will be working additional hours to the minimise disruption to residents.
"The strike schedule, including details of these changes and any delays to waste and recycling services, will be published via the Sandwell Council website, Twitter, Facebook and the email update service."
Residents have been asked to leave bins out as normal, even if they may not be collected.
Bin staff walked out in August but further action planned for September was suspended after bosses at Serco requested fresh talks.
