Council to fire and rehire bin workers, union says

The Unite union says strike action is likely before the end of March

Coventry City Council is pressing ahead with its plan to fire and rehire bin workers, the Unite union has said.

The union and the council have been negotiating for months to end a dispute over working conditions.

The council has faced equal pay claims over contracts that allow staff in the male-dominated waste team to finish work early.

But talks have broken down, with Unite threatening strikes before the end of March.

Unite said the Labour-controlled council had sought to resolve the dispute by putting forward several proposals, which its members had accepted without conditions.

But the union said the council had decided to withdraw "its own proposals and press ahead with brutally firing and rehiring its own workers".

"The actions of Coventry council in firing and rehiring its refuse collection workers is abhorrent," Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.

"This makes Coventry and its Labour councillors the pariahs of the Labour movement."

A previous strike over terms and conditions in 2022 led to a six-month strike.

Offer 'not withdrawn'

The council has not denied it is moving forward with its plan to fire and rehire its bin workers.

Councillors approved a proposal to dismiss and re-engage existing employees in the waste sector in December last year.

But the council insisted it had not "withdrawn any offer it has made as part of ongoing negotiations with trade unions".

"The facts are that Unite had put forward a proposal, but they were unable to achieve a collective position on it with other unions, meaning it was not possible to progress," a council spokesperson said.

"At no point did the council put any proposal on the table which it later withdrew."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the fire and rehire policy was "abhorrent"

The council wants to scrap a practice known as task and finish, which allows bin workers to end their shifts as soon as their work is completed.

Female staff in other areas of the council's workforce claim this amounts to sexual discrimination because they are not entitled to these terms.

About 180, mostly female, staff are bringing equal pay claims against the council.

Last month, the council faced calls to reassure taxpayers it has a plan to pay for the equal pay claims, which are estimated to be worth millions.

An estimated £760m equal pay bill was a major factor in the much-larger Birmingham City Council effectively declaring itself bankrupt.

When asked if the collapse of talks meant the end of task and finish, Coventry City Council's cabinet member for finance, Richard Brown, said "probably yes".

He said he hoped Unite would "have another think" about its next move "because the last thing we want is strike action".

Mr Brown said the comments made by Unite's general secretary were "not language that we would approve of", adding "but she is entitled to her opinion".

Jonathan Chamberlain, of the Employment Lawyers' Association, said fire and rehire was "still legal if an employer does it properly".

"Fire and rehire is in principle completely lawful and has been for decades, but it can still be really painful for employees who face losing their job not because they've done anything wrong or because they're redundant but because their employer needs to save money," he said.