More bin strikes called in bullying row

Strike action over bullying allegations began in November 2023

Further bin strikes have been announced in South Tyneside following a major breakdown in relations between the council and unions.

Workers will take action between 19 and 22 March, despite a joint statement released in February by South Tyneside Council and the unions saying they hoped to “reach a resolution in the near future”.

Several rounds of strikes have taken place since November 2023 in a row over bullying.

A union official said members were convinced the relationship between them and the council was now “fundamentally broken”.

'Flawed' report

South Tyneside Council called the planned action by GMB and Unite workers “unjustified”.

The long-running dispute has centred largely on bullying and harassment allegations against management staff, said GMB official Mark Wilson.

But the local authority said an independent investigation concluded that “no evidence of bullying and harassment of the workforce by management” had been found.

Mr Wilson described the report as “flawed”.

He said several allegations had not been included in the report.

“Saying no evidence exists is factually not true because all they have to do is listen to members,” he said, adding that workers had not been sent the full report.

But a council spokesperson said staff had been able to read the report in full during a presentation given by the authority.

'Come to the table'

The unions want changes to management in light of the allegations, but the council says it cannot do anything as the HR process has “concluded”.

The local authority also said unions had made no attempt to challenge the report, a claim Mr Wilson said was not true.

"The council has repeatedly called for the union to come to the table and enter into Acas conciliation," said the South Tyneside spokesperson.

"The union have repeatedly refused to take this positive action to bring an end to the ongoing dispute.

"The council remains fully committed to conciliation using Acas as an independent conciliatory body in order to get the service back delivering for residents."