Unite wins London Underground outsourcing
battle
30 March 2010
Unite, the UK’s biggest trade union, has won a battle to prevent
London Underground cutting waste collections from five per day to
two per week.
London Underground had awarded the waste collecting contract for
sixty stations across London to Initial Rentokil, who claimed they
could do it for less money and then subcontracted the work to
refuse company Biffa. The decision to subcontract to Biffa was
reversed amid health and safety concerns raised by Unite about the
threat of fire if rubbish was allowed to pile up.
Biffa had planned to have just two dustcarts with only two staff
per vehicle collecting from sixty Underground stations in just one
shift. Tube Lines, the current contract holders, employ twenty four
staff and send out five carts per day and three at night. The
daytime carts average twenty five stations a day during a 10-12
hour shift.
Initially, Biffa had planned to phone ahead on their rounds and
get the cleaners to bring up the waste and leave it on the
pavements. They also left twelve stations off of the bid, one of
them being Kings Cross.
The outsourcing of waste collections comes after the
announcement by Mayor of London Boris Johnson of the need to reduce
the budget of Transport for London by £2.4m over the next ten
years.
John Morgan-Evans, Unite Regional Officer said:
"These proposals would have resulted in a
build up of rubbish at stations, posing a serious health and safety
risk and rat infestations. In awarding this contract it seems that
London Underground temporarily forgot that the Kings Cross fire was
the result of a similar cost / benefit attitude to safety. This is
the outcome of the Mayor's budget squeeze.
"Unite is pleased that this work is staying with Tube Lines. Not
only have we secured the jobs of our members but the safety of all
London Underground passengers and staff."
-Ends-
For further information please contact:
Jody Whitehill, Unite press office on: 07768 693956
John Morgan-Evans, Unite regional official on: 07958 514702
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