Council urged not to compromise winter maintenance training due to strike action

Wrexham Council has been urged not to compromise winter maintenance and gritting due to the ongoing strikes by council workers.

It comes after the local authority warned that collections could be further affected if staff are needed to grit and clear roads.

Members of Unite have been staging industrial action since the start of September as part of a dispute over pay with Wrexham Council.

The current round of strikes are expected to continue until the end of November.

However the union has warned of a winter of action as part of their campaign for a fair pay deal. ‌

Last week members of​ ‌the environment scrutiny committee ‌were told that while winter maintenance will be prioritised, this could mean bin collections continue to be disrupted.​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌​​‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​​

During the meeting Councillor Carrie Harper of Plaid Cymru raised the question about winter maintenance training being stopped for striking workers.

She explained that winter maintenance training was essential so that the council was able to deploy its full complement of 12 gritters and gully cleaners in the event of bad weather.

Cllr Harper said that striking workers had been informed by managers that they would not be allowed to complete the training, despite exemptions having been agreed with their union, and would therefore not be allowed onto the rota for the six months until April.

Lead member for the environment Cllr Jones said he understood all staff operating equipment are “fully and appropriately trained to the necessary standard” and able to meet statutory requirements for keeping the highways safe, but there would be a knock-on effect for bin collections. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌​​‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​​

“Refusing to allow council workers to complete their winter maintenance training and other emergency tasks as part of agreed exemptions with the strikers makes no sense. It’s a public safety matter and the council should take it seriously,” said Cllr Harper.

“I raised this in committee with the lead member for the Environment, Councillor Hugh Jones, because it’s important that we as the general public have this cover over the winter and it should also be a priority for the council to have a winter maintenance rota available.

“The alternative would be potentially catastrophic and costly in the event of a preventable accident.

“Instead, it seems as if the council is happy to use this as a bargaining tool against the strike and use it to force people back to work.

“The scrutiny committee agreed with my position and we passed the following recommendation:

‘That striking workers are offered the full training package and are put on the rota for winter maintenance in order to ensure the Winter Maintenance Policy can be delivered.’

“That’s a formal recommendation to officers and the lead member that they’ll now have to report back to committee on.

“We want to see this strike resolved as soon as possible and to ensure that we have public safety at the heart of our work going forward.

“I understand they’ve now had some basic training but still not had the full package.”