This is a win for our members, for the general public and for common sense
GMB has scored a big win for members in the Sandwell bin dispute following last ditch talks.
Private outsourcing company Serco have now agreed to suspend the round changes imposed on bin workers.
GMB had served notice of industrial action to Serco after they urged workers to ignore the company’s own safety rules.
Serco has removed two rounds from the Sandwell domestic waste contract and put the work onto existing crews - This is in on top of all the new build houses placed onto rounds over the last few years.
Now GMB will work with Serco during the next 3 months to address members’ concerns around workload and allocation.
GMB will suspend industrial action during this period
Stuart Richards, GMB Senior Organiser said:
“This is a big win for our members, for the general public and for common sense.
“Our members never wanted to take industrial action - but they didn’t want to put themselves and the people of Sandwell in danger by ignoring safety regulations.
“Now we can look forward to working with Serco constructively to make the rounds more efficient, but without compromising safety.”
