Tower Hamlets: Rubbish piles up as strike continues - BBC

Tower Hamlets: Rubbish piles up as strike continues - BBC News

Tower Hamlets: Rubbish piles up as strike continues

- Published

Rubbish is piling up on the streets of an east London borough as industrial action by refuse workers continues.

Members of the Unite union working for Tower Hamlets Council began their strike action on 18 September in a dispute over pay.

A union representative told BBC London that an offer from the council had been negotiated and would be voted on by members.

Tower Hamlets Council said it was "disappointed" by the strike.

The union said more than 200 refuse-collection and street-cleaning workers were taking part in the action.

Nick West, Unite's regional officer, said if the council's offer was accepted by members then services would "get back to normal" from Wednesday.

One resident of Bow told BBC London the area had deteriorated into a "rubbish yard".

"There are bin bags and rubbish everywhere, rats everywhere," Geoffrey White said.
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"It's disgraceful that we are being treated like second-class citizens like this."

He said the area near the local market was particularly badly affected with "piles of rubbish" continuing to grow.

Chris Dyson, a businessman in Tower Hamlets, said the scenes in Brick Lane and across the borough were "absolutely shocking".

"This is going to take a lot of time to clear up properly [and] to disinfect and not just scrape clean to make it safe," he said.

He called on Tower Hamlets mayor, Lutfur Rahman, to come to a deal with the union and pay the workers a "decent wage".

Harry Low, BBC London reporter in Brick Lane

The stench is the first thing that hits you. A stomach-turning stink which is enough to leave people pinching their noses.

Almost every bin is overflowing. The pigeons, wasps and rats are having a field day.

"Disgusting", "revolting" and "appalling" are just some the words on the lips of those making their way through the rubbish that is strewn along Brick Lane.

There is leftover curry, rotting eggshells and food containers everywhere as the wind spreads waste all across this usually vibrant part of east London.

Earlier this month, Unite said its members rejected a national pay offer of a flat-rate increase of £1,925. The union said this amounted to a real-terms pay cut when inflation was factored in.

Unite's Mr West continued: "This dispute is a direct result of local government employers failing to value workers and failing to reward them for their hard work."

However, negotiations with Tower Hamlets Council on Monday ended with the offer, which Unite said would now be voted on by its members.

"It's some good news for the residents of Tower Hamlets and of course our members that there is an offer on the table now," Mr West said.

When the strike was originally announced it had been due to end on 1 October but was extended for two weeks, a Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said.

"Naturally we are disappointed as keeping Tower Hamlets' streets clean and litter-free is our priority," the spokesperson added.

While the council claims it cannot negotiate with the union directly on pay due to national talks, the council spokesperson said discussions on local issues were ongoing and they remained "hopeful of a resolution".

Mr West said the national pay negotiations are with the government through the National Joint Council, which represents a number of local authorities collectively.

However, councils can reach deals on at the local level. Newham announced on Friday it had avoided a bin strike through "intense negotiations" with Unite.

A strike was also called off in Sheffield after a deal was agreed with the council and the GMB union.

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