Laois wheelie bin strike averted for talks

SIPTU members employed by Bord na Móna Recycling have deferred strike action following what the union says is an acceptance by management that their conditions of employment must be protected in any proposed sale of the company.

Workers voted overwhelmingly in March to strike on Wednesday and Thursday, April 2 and 3 over concerns about what would happen to their jobs if the State-owned service, which has thousands of Laois customers, is privatised.

Bord na Móna wants to sell the country’s last publicly owned domestic waste collection service to KWD Recycling, a Kerry-based waste business.

SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane, commented on the decision not to proceed with industrial action in statement to the Leinster Express Laois Live.

“Following acceptance in principle by management of the concerns our members raised in relation to the protection of their terms and conditions of employment if a proposed sale of the company takes place, they have decided to defer strike action scheduled to take place next week.

“The decision was made following a meeting of Shop Stewards yesterday (Thursday, 27th March) and has now been relayed to management. The deferral period will allow for talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in relation to ensuring our members will maintain their current terms and conditions of employment if any sale of the company goes ahead. These talks will begin on Monday (31st March). The WRC talks will occur within a set timeframe with all issues to be discussed.

“We believe the most appropriate way to ensure our members terms and conditions of employment are protected is through the establishment of a Registered Employment Agreement," he said.

Mr Kane insisted that workers do not want the company privatised. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

“It remains the position of our members that selling the last remaining publicly owned domestic waste collection service into the private sector is a backwards step in relation to the future of the industry in Ireland. We continue to seek a meeting with the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien, to discuss the wider context of this dispute and the best way froward for the domestic waste collection sector.

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“Our members would like to thank Bord na Móna Recycling customers, the wider public and many elected representatives for their support in recent weeks. The move by management to accept that the initial guarantees it offered in relation to our members terms and conditions of employment were unsatisfactory is welcomed. It is hoped that this will now provide a firm basis for further discussions at the WRC,” he said.

Bord na Móna said it welcomes SIPTU’s decision to withdraw notice of strike and industrial actionand defer further industrial/strike action relating to the sale of the recycling business, to allow for intervention from the Workplace Relations Commission.

Bord na Móna said it remains committed to the employee assurances outlined within its transition Framework Agreement, including continuity of existing terms and conditions and collective agreements, and it will continue to engage with SIPTU and the Workplace Relations Commission to finalise the Framework Agreement.

Bord na Móna also told the Leinster Express / Laois Live it would proceed with its waste collection services as usual next week.

Bord na Móna is reportedly in line to sell for €55 million. That would mean a multi-million loss to the taxpayer as Bord na Móna paid €61 million for the waste management company, formerly known as Advanced Environmental Solutions (Ireland), in 2007.