Bin bags pile up in Brighton and Hove (From The Argus)

Fishcalledwanda wrote:
Are City Clean being paid during the stike? If not, why doesn't the council use the money they are saving to pay a private contractor? Surely the council has a duty of care, in terms of the potential health hazard this rubbish represents.

ferretneck wrote:
One of the added problems this time about the rubbish piling up in the streets is that instead of it being confined to residents front gardens or communal bin areas, a lot of the piles are around the new black communal street bins. People are piling their rubbish on the pavement if the communal bins are on the pavements and bags are being split open by seagulls. Our two closest bins are in Ann St, one outside St Bartholomew's Primary School and the other outside St Bartholomew's Church. Ann St is a busy street during the day and street the children use to get to school. The general public use it to go shopping at the New England Quarter Sainsbury's. This area had had enough rubbish problems already (for example no collections from the City Point development flats in 2006/2007 for months on end - which was reported in the Argus). Schoolchildren shouldn't have to walk through piles of rubbish to get to school, nor should the public. Surely Brighton and Hove City Council are breaking some sort of environmental law by letting the rubbish pile up like this. Seagulls are splitting open the bags and rats will arrive shortly enough. Get this mess cleaned up before this turns into another situation like what is happening in Leeds. It is a public health hazard. Ferretneck

Voice of Unreason wrote:

ferretneck wrote: One of the added problems this time about the rubbish piling up in the streets is that instead of it being confined to residents front gardens or communal bin areas, a lot of the piles are around the new black communal street bins. People are piling their rubbish on the pavement if the communal bins are on the pavements and bags are being split open by seagulls. Our two closest bins are in Ann St, one outside St Bartholomew's Primary School and the other outside St Bartholomew's Church. Ann St is a busy street during the day and street the children use to get to school. The general public use it to go shopping at the New England Quarter Sainsbury's. This area had had enough rubbish problems already (for example no collections from the City Point development flats in 2006/2007 for months on end - which was reported in the Argus). Schoolchildren shouldn't have to walk through piles of rubbish to get to school, nor should the public. Surely Brighton and Hove City Council are breaking some sort of environmental law by letting the rubbish pile up like this. Seagulls are splitting open the bags and rats will arrive shortly enough. Get this mess cleaned up before this turns into another situation like what is happening in Leeds. It is a public health hazard. Ferretneck

Right on all counts - but as council tax payers, it isn't our problem. We have paid for a refuse collection service. If we don't get one, it's the council's fault, and it's totally up to them to sort it out - not up to us to do their job for them by taking stuff to the rubbish dump and so on.

moose10 wrote:
the bin men/women are lucky to have a job, i was made redundant 2 weeks ago and have been unable to find work yet. i would be more than happy for a job that pays between 12 and 19k a year.

Hove1974 wrote:
You can't just take away people's salaries like that. It's disgraceful. £8K on a £19K salary is a drop of 36% - people can't take that kind of hit and still provide for their families. I fully support the strike and back the workers 100%. In fact, I would be happy to put a printed sign of support up in my flat if I knew where to get one...

abinman wrote:
An employee asked a City clean manager this morning if he could get his coat out of a lorry, No was the answer GEE's our managers are nice people too!!!

CeeBee wrote:

Fishcalledwanda wrote: Are City Clean being paid during the stike? If not, why doesn't the council use the money they are saving to pay a private contractor? Surely the council has a duty of care, in terms of the potential health hazard this rubbish represents.

No, strike action is always unpaid.

smegbuster wrote:

abinman wrote: An employee asked a City clean manager this morning if he could get his coat out of a lorry, No was the answer GEE's our managers are nice people too!!!

Well, if the employees are going to be petty about whether they can use the lorry, then surely the managers can do the same, and say, "sorry, you yourself said this lorry is unsafe to enter!" ;-)

Fishcalledwanda wrote:
Are City Clean being paid during the stike? If not, why doesn't the council use the money they are saving to pay a private contractor? Surely the council has a duty of care, in terms of the potential health hazard this rubbish represents.

Voice of Unreason wrote:
I don't support either side in this. All I want is what I have already paid for in my council tax - a refuse collection service. So sort it out! I'm old enough to remember the seventies, with all the strikes and bin bags piled high in the streets. Thirty years ago. What happened then? Thatcher with her right wing, anti union policies got voted in, and within 6 years, the unions were left without any real power. History repeats itself.

Hove1974 wrote:
@smegbuster Good point about average salaries. However, I still think cutting people's salaries is not on - and the fact that those on substantially lower than £19K might face a cut of £2k is disgraceful. The binmen have said they don't mind a pay freeze (like many of us today), but cutting salaries by an obscene amount merely because the council has allowed pay disparities to arise is just unfair.

John60 wrote:
I have been living in Brighton for over a year now and I have never known such a terrible council like Brighton and Hove council. The workers are rude and inadequate at their jobs and their attitudes are out of date. Brighton is not a poor city and yet these people run it as if it were the '70's. The whole council needs to be shaken up and bought into the twenty first centuary. I think that all the residents of Brighton and Hove should take all of their rubbish to the nearest town hall to them and dunp it there. This is such a disgrace and one that the council are clearly not taking very seriously if they think that it's fine for us to have to put up with this.

misscee wrote:
I have zero sympathy for the strikers. You are lucky to have a job and have been over-paid for a long time. Accept this and stop whinging.

binladen wrote:
I'm really sorry but don't expect me to have sympathy with these chancers.I have watched binmen refuse to pick up recycling and empty full bins in my street because they were about six inches from the pavement and still slightly on the path! They are arrogant,surly jobsworths and they earn quite enough as it is for such unskilled work.If they are not back in work in a week there are many down the job centre who would do the job better and with a real sense of civic duty.Sack 'em I say and recruit a new workforce.Go on B&H Council grow a pair and force the issue. Don't be held to ransom by this motley bunch £19,000 is a lot of money in this town.

sharronw wrote:
Im a wife of one of men striking with the company i can tell you now they are not unskilled my husband had done plenty of training for his job.Cutting the wage is just outrageous we have a mortgage based on our incomes what are we suppose to do just not pay in? They work in all weather unsocialble hours only get 1 in 6 weekend off have to work bank holiday without extra pay.They get abuse and threatning behaviour from the public. Have to deal with all sorts of rubbish not just refuge, dirty needles, graffiti, dog bins. Keep going everyone you have my support.

ryli97 wrote:

binladen wrote: I'm really sorry but don't expect me to have sympathy with these chancers.I have watched binmen refuse to pick up recycling and empty full bins in my street because they were about six inches from the pavement and still slightly on the path! They are arrogant,surly jobsworths and they earn quite enough as it is for such unskilled work.If they are not back in work in a week there are many down the job centre who would do the job better and with a real sense of civic duty.Sack 'em I say and recruit a new workforce.Go on B&H Council grow a pair and force the issue. Don't be held to ransom by this motley bunch £19,000 is a lot of money in this town.

i work for cityclean im a street sweeper i only get 13k a year i take pride in my work and they wanna knock me down to 11k i dont think so thats why we're striking i have kids to feed we will win this you can count on it

Voice of Unreason wrote:

ryli97 wrote:

binladen wrote: I'm really sorry but don't expect me to have sympathy with these chancers.I have watched binmen refuse to pick up recycling and empty full bins in my street because they were about six inches from the pavement and still slightly on the path! They are arrogant,surly jobsworths and they earn quite enough as it is for such unskilled work.If they are not back in work in a week there are many down the job centre who would do the job better and with a real sense of civic duty.Sack 'em I say and recruit a new workforce.Go on B&H Council grow a pair and force the issue. Don't be held to ransom by this motley bunch £19,000 is a lot of money in this town.

i work for cityclean im a street sweeper i only get 13k a year i take pride in my work and they wanna knock me down to 11k i dont think so thats why we're striking i have kids to feed we will win this you can count on it

I have total sympathy for you on 13k a year. Of course you shouldn't lose a penny, and in fact should be paid more than that for what you do. But those on 19k plus? Thats'a different matter entirely.

greeg wrote:

Voice of Unreason wrote:

ryli97 wrote:

binladen wrote: I'm really sorry but don't expect me to have sympathy with these chancers.I have watched binmen refuse to pick up recycling and empty full bins in my street because they were about six inches from the pavement and still slightly on the path! They are arrogant,surly jobsworths and they earn quite enough as it is for such unskilled work.If they are not back in work in a week there are many down the job centre who would do the job better and with a real sense of civic duty.Sack 'em I say and recruit a new workforce.Go on B&H Council grow a pair and force the issue. Don't be held to ransom by this motley bunch £19,000 is a lot of money in this town.

i work for cityclean im a street sweeper i only get 13k a year i take pride in my work and they wanna knock me down to 11k i dont think so thats why we're striking i have kids to feed we will win this you can count on it

I have total sympathy for you on 13k a year. Of course you shouldn't lose a penny, and in fact should be paid more than that for what you do. But those on 19k plus? Thats'a different matter entirely.

How can they take you down to £11.000,the national minimum wage adds up to more than that.Are you part-time?Can you explain so that we don't think you're lying?