Unions representing workers, including GMB North West & Irish Region, are opposing the move and urging the council to keep our services public.
We say NO to the privatisation of waste collection services in Northern Ireland! What would privatisation mean for you? Where waste services have been privatised in the past there is a serious potential impact - not only on those who operate the service but also for the public:
- Less frequent collections;
- Potential charging for services;
- Services run for profit;
- Services accountable to shareholders and not the public;
- The loss of decent public sector jobs to be replaced with casual contracts comprising of poor pay and weaker terms and conditions.
The waste management and bin collection service in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area has seen vast improvement in recent years. All of this has been managed in-house and under the direct control of the Council.
To contact your local councillor and ask them to keep our public services – Click Here
Alan Perry, GMB Regional Organiser says -
‘’This is an ongoing dispute within Antrim and Newtownabbey council, because the council is looking to outsource the black bin services in legacy Newtownabbey side of the borough and the brown bins in the Antrim side.
The reason for this, the councillors are saying, they gave a commitment to allow 40 staff to leave on voluntary severance. To do this, they can’t run the service in house and no option but to put it out to tender.
However, the council have failed to provide any financial information hence why we are in dispute.’’
