The city council will only use agency staff to empty bins in emergencies, North Edinburgh campaigners have been told. The assurance came from Councillor Lesley Hinds in response to questions posed by local campaign group North Edinburgh Fights Back.
The group had challenged council leaders over the use of private contractors in the refuse collection service. Councillor Hinds, who chairs the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee, responded: ” I have had several meetings with the Director of Services for Communities and now have an assurance that within the next few weeks, agency staff will not be used in the cleansing area except in emergency use. I wish to see permanent staff employed in cleansing.”
She went on: “You will be aware that the Labour Group on the Council opposed ABM (Alternative Business Model) from the beginning and voted on many occasions to stop the privatisation of council services. During this ABM process an in-house bid was submitted, which included changes to how the service was to be delivered. I had a meeting, at my request, with he shop stewards from Unite and we agreed a number of actions we can take to ensure we have permanent staff employed with good terms and conditions.”
A spokesperson for North Edinburgh Fights Back said: “We welcome Councillor Hinds’ statement but we will continue to monitor the situation.”
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