6:15am Thursday 14th February 2008
By Miles Godfrey
More than 300 binmen and street cleaning workers were expected to continue wildcat strikes today after claims that workers had been told they were "too fat and lazy" to do their jobs.
Brighton and Hove will be left with bin bags and recycling boxes lining the streets unless there is a swift end to the action which began with a first wave of strikes yesterday morning.
All but a handful of refuse collection crews based at the Cityclean depot in Upper Hollingdean Road, Brighton, downed tools after a row broke out about working conditions.
Binmen have complained they have been asked to work extra hours to compensate for the firm, part of Brighton and Hove City Council, having too few rubbish trucks and not enough staff.
Workers told The Argus discontent over working conditions had been growing for several weeks but the unofficial action had been sparked by two colleagues being told they were 'too fat and too lazy' to do their jobs.
They said workers were unhappy over changes to crews, they had been stretched by not having enough lorries to do their jobs and they had lost faith in their bosses.
They claimed the management had resorted to using 'bullying tactics'.
A city council spokesman denied that any staff were called fat and lazy but acknowledged the changes to crews had sparked the strikes.
Union bosses had been in talks with the council to try to resolve the situation even though they are not supporting the strike action.
But no solution had been reached last night.
Binmen and street cleaners plan to continue the strike until their management offer a solution.
Waste will be left to build up around the city until they return to work.
Paul Campbell, one of the workers at the depot, claimed his cousin, who he asked not to be named, had been singled out for being overweight.
He said: "He came back off sick leave recently and was told he was too fat to do the job. He's a big bloke but not massive.
"They stuck him with another crew which is meant to work him harder."
Another binman said: "Two of the blokes have been moved to work with more efficient crews because they were told they were too fat and lazy.
"You don't need to be a bodybuilder to be a binman. These are guys who are probably only one or two stone overweight, not morbidly obese."
Further discontent has been voiced after crews which worked together for years were split up.
Others said the problem had developed since November when six leased refuse trucks were returned to their owners.
This and breakdowns in the fleet left bin crews short of working lorries.
As a result some rounds could not be completed on the days they were due. They said the crews were ordered by management to do them on another day, in addition to their regular rounds, which prompted disquiet among the binmen.
The number of agency staff supporting the crews had also been cut.
Cityclean workers have told The Argus they are prepared to continue wildcat strikes until conditions improve.
The threat came despite the GMB union advising members to go back to work and only strike under official conditions.
A council spokesman said: "We are baffled and disappointed that this unofficial action has happened.
"We had no idea that the move of two employees from collecting refuse from one area to collecting refuse in another would cause this.
"It has been normal practice to move employees from crew to crew as needed by the service.
"We have met with the union and are trying to understand what the problem is and resolve the matter sensibly.
"In the meantime there will be service delays and we apologise to all residents for the disruption and inconvenience."
Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of the council's environment committee, said: "I'm a great believer in managers managing. I hope it is resolved soon and I'm being kept informed of developments."
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