Bin collectors list troubles with Verdant

Refuse collectors already fed up with pay and working conditions were angered at the weekend when they discovered they had been given the wrong monthly pay.

They say this has happened every month since Verdant took over the refuse contract from Serco in April.

The crews decided unanimously to protest over not being paid for overtime, as well as too much work, not enough trucks, and insufficient staff to cope with recycling.

GMB Union steward Gavin Vigar said: "Morale is at an all-time low."

This morning the entire workforce - apart from Camber and late crews - walked out of the workyard in London Road to protest at the Town Hall.

They stood outside with placards before going inside to put their feelings to Rother's director of services Tony Leonard, chief executive Derek Stevens, head of amenities, Madeleine Gorman, and head of recycling, Alan Dodge.

Incorrect pay was top of their list as many have been working late to get through their increased workload.

Gavin said: "We said to the managers, you have to sort this out. At the very least, you must get the men's pay right...but the pay slips turned up, and quite a few of them are wrong."

One man who worked weeks of overtime was shocked to find just 680 was paid into his bank account.

The Observer was told how problems began when Verdant took over refuse collection for Rother. For the first few weeks crews continued on regular rounds, but then Verdant set up new rounds based on postcodes.

One staff member said: "It just doesn't work. Bins are getting missed altogether. A crew may have to work in Camber then go to Peasmarsh and Beckley that day, or we have to be in Robertsbridge, then go to Fairlight.

"The guys are unable to complete their work. It is far too much for us - you have got three men to do these huge areas, and they are just not physically able to do it."

The crews are currently experiencing problems with new vehicles brought in by Verdant - these have proved unsuitable for some rural areas.

Meanwhile staff are getting used to the twinpack trucks introduced to deal with recycling but which have no bin-lift.

A Bexhill worker said: "Each box has now got to be collected. You have to walk across a street or green to pick up a box, carry it back to the truck, them empty it and take it back to the property, then get the next one. It takes a ridiculous amount of time. In the past we used to have what we called a "slave bin" - we had this wheelie bin to push along, empty boxes into it, leave them there, then push the slave bin to the truck. This is all now hugely time-consuming...there is one person to take the paper, one person to take plastics and cans, and we are doing these huge rounds. There's too much work, not enough trucks and not enough men.

"We have needed to work until 9pm some days in order to clear the workload, becuse it is taking so much longer to do the work."

Other problems are experienced when crews cannot take refuse to landfill because the site is closed at 4.30. The refuse is then left in the truck overnight and if the van is used next morning for picking up recycling waste, the entire load ends up in landfill.

After the meeting with Rother, Gavin said: "They seemed very understanding. We felt that we might have done something. We hope it can all be sorted out.

He felt his colleagues were happier when they left the meeting and said: "We will see what the results are. At the end of the day, it felt for me there was a point to going down there and have someone listening to us from outside the yard."

Rother chief executive Derek Stevens said: "Clearly the staff remain totally committed to providing a first class waste and recycling service, and I will be raising their concerns with the senior management of Verdant within the next 24 hours."