Sandwell: Using agency bin workers a 'danger' - GMB union

Agency staff replacing striking bin workers in Sandwell were involved in eight incidents last week, the GMB union has claimed.

It said it had warned of the dangers of using inexperienced temporary staff and said "something terrible" could happen.

Serco, which operates the service, promised all reports of incidents would be taken seriously, but said it was not aware of the number claimed by the GMB.

It said the union needed to pass on any reports it might have.

The union and Serco are involved in a dispute over pay, which has led to GMB members taking strike action.

Serco said the union's demands were "unaffordable", adding that its pay offer of 7.5% was "fair and reasonable".

The union has asked for more and accused the company of proposing "a real-terms pay cut in the midst of the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation".

GMB organiser Justine Jones said the union had warned Serco and the council of "the dangers" of bringing in "inexperienced temporary agency staff to do the job of professional refuse workers".

The union said it had video footage of the incidents.

Ms Jones said the incidents it had been told about were a "drastic wake-up call for decision makers" and called for bin collections to be brought back in-house by Sandwell Council.

Serco responded: "The health and safety of our employees and members of the public is paramount to us.

"All employees, whether they are agency or permanent staff, receive exactly the same induction and training."

Councillor Bob Piper, Deputy Leader of Sandwell Council, said the local authority wanted to "ensure that any disruption is kept to an absolute minimum" and urged Serco to seek a resolution to the dispute.

The council said fresh talks were due to take place next Tuesday.

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