Greens call for Cityclean report to be published

Green Party convenor Steve Davis wants a report written in 2019 to be published

The Green Party on Brighton and Hove City Council is calling for a confidential 2019 report into issues at CityClean, the council's waste services contractor, to be published.

The party said it would shed light on how it had been “held over a barrel” by union reps.

The previous Labour administration commissioned the report after the GMB union threatened strike action during that year’s Pride celebrations.

Another report commissioned in May 2023 and published in November detailed allegations of bullying, racism, homophobia, misogyny and intimidation by GMB reps and members at the refuse service’s Hollingdean depot.

The latest report, written by barrister Aileen McColgan, goes before Brighton and Hove City Council later.

Green group convenor councillor Steve Davis has called for a special council meeting and publication of the 2019 report, which he says is relevant to the deeper issues at Cityclean.

Mr Davis said he wants a debate about political interference at Cityclean from 2019 to be referred to in the latest report, which he claimed affected a two-week strike in 2021, when the Greens were running the authority.

He said: “The 2019 report has context not just on what has been happening for years, but what happened in our administration.”

In her report, Miss McColgan said there is evidence that by 2017 bullying behaviour had “become normalised” at Cityclean, including by GMB union representatives within the council.

The latest report centres around the waste depot at Hollingdean

Mr Davis was co-chair of the environment, transport and sustainability committee during the 2021 dispute and was asked to sit in during negotiations.

He said: “I couldn’t believe what was going on. It became apparent they had us over a barrel.”

He described the meetings with union reps during the strike as “incredibly heated”.