SHEFFIELD: KEEP IT CLEAN

November 1986

The Government plans to force local authorities to put a hit list of services out to tender to privatecontractors. It includes refuse collection, street cleansing, waste disposal and cleaning. We havepublished this broadsheet as part of our campaign to educate to organise against the privatisationof any cleansing service. It covers:*The value of our work *No return to Victorian standards *Contractors fines and failures*The advantages of a public cleansing service *Jobs down the drain *The savings myths*Comparing wages and conditions.

THEADVANTAGESOFAPUBLICCLEANSINGSERVICE1.Effective and efficientservice2. A cleaner and tidier city3. C.omprehensive range ofservices4. Co-ordinated collect;ion anddisposal of all waste5. Maximum use of health andsafety measures6. A directly accountableservice to deal quickly withdemands and queries7.Responsive and flexibleservice to meet the city'schanging needs8. More and better jobscompared to the full publiccost of contracting out9. Better trained workforce10.Continuity of service toplan for future improvementsand new services

NO RETURN TO VICTORIAN STANDARDSDo you want to live in a city of:

dirt disease vermin pollution waste-strewn streets and open spacesflooded streets fouled footpaths abandoned vehicles?

For you, your family and friends it could mean:*increased illness *increased accidents to elderly, disabled and children.

There are not only personal and social costs but also economic costs too -lost wages,delays, increased health care costs.For everyone it means:

*blighted areas *a poorer quality living and working environment*increased personal costs of time and money in disposing of your own and others'rubbish.

The council has many duties and responsibilities to keep Sheffield a clean and healthy cityThese are set out in many Acts of Parliament including the Public Health Acts of 1936 and1961, Highways Act 1959, and the Local GovernmentAct 1972, and the Control of PollutionAct 1974.The need is to increase public resources to implement this legislation - not weaken itthrough privatisation.

PRIVATE CONTRACTORSFINES AND FAILURESFAILINGTO MEET STANDARDS OF SERVICEPOORSTANDARDS*Exclusive Cleansing Services (BET pic)street cleansing contract in Ealing has adismal record. In the 7 months to the end ofMay 1984 "the company achieved onlybetween 57 per cent and 79 per cent of thespecified seNice approved by the council."Fines totalled £ 18,000 in one month alone.The then Tory Council helped the contractorby reducing the required standard ofperformance by 25 per cent, agreed extrapayments of 4.840, and spent £ 15,000 on3,000 new litter bins. The streets remain dirtyand complaints continue.*30,000 complaints injust fifteen monthsflooded into Wirral District Council afterthey contracted out refuse collection andstreet cleansing to Waste ManagementLtd. (National Freight Consortium). Thecouncil was forced to pay an extra £228,000to the firm after a 2 month strike over wagesand holiday pay*Taskmasters (Hawley Group) were fined£23,613 in one 6 month period for poorperformance on the Merton refuse and streetcleansing contract.*When Wandsworth Council privatisedstreet cleansing in February 1982 toPritchard Services Group (now part of theHawley Group) the specification includedmajor cuts in the standard of seNicecompared to that operated by direct labour-the bulk of the so-called 'savings.' The revisedspecification for the renewal of the contract in1987 included a 31 per cent increase in theoverall level of seNices. Eighty per cent of thestreets will be cleaned twice a week insteadof the current twenty per cent.Teamwaste (R>B>Tyler Group, party of AAHHoldings) won the contract but it will cost thecouncil an extra £516,000 annually- a 51 percent increase on the existing budget.

DANGEROUS &OVERLOADED*A Wirral District Council engineers reportalleged that Waste Management Ltd. usedinadequate and dangerous vehicles whichfrequently broke down causing disruption tothe seNice. Engineers inspected 19 of thefirm's 37 vehicles and concluded that 84 percent would probably fail a Department ofTransport test, 21 per cent had dangerousfaults and 10 per cent would not start. WasteManagement recently contracted out its ownvehicle maintenance!*An £8,500 fine was imposed on PritchardServices Group by Henley County Court inJuly 1984 following 34 summonses forexceeding maximum weight limits for refusevehicles. Pritchards only paid the fine afterreceiving a Court Order.* Eight out of 13 refuse vehicles used byWastecare (Browning Ferris Industries) tocollect paladin bins from council estates inWandsworth were found to be in adangerous condition following an inspectionby the London Hazards Centre. The crucialsafety loading device was missing or brokenon 8 vehicles. Two vehicles had seriouslydamaged hoppers.

TEMP JOBSThose who do get jobs with contractors rarelylast very long. Initially contractors need theexperience and knowledge of rounds offormer council workers - but then thesackings start.*After 5 months of Exclusive Cleaning'sMilton Keynes refuse and street cleansingcontract only 8 of the 74 former councilworkers taken on by Exclusive remained. Therest had been sacked or forced to leave.*Staff turnover soared to over 1,000 in threeyears for just 80 jobs on Pritchard'sWandsworih street cleaning contract.

SACKED-----Contractors not only have a history of finesand failures but in many cases theirperformance has been so bad they have beenSACKED. Some recent examples include:

Contractor Contract

Initial Cleaning SeNices (BET Group which Kennet public toiletsalso owns Biffa Waste SeNices)

Taskmaster (Hawley Group), Initial and OCS Dudley school cleaning

Initial, Taskmaster and Pall Mall Cambridgeshire school cleaning(Sunlight SeNices Group)

Crothall & Co. Ltd. (Pritchard SeNices Group) Maidstone Hospital cleaning

Provincial Cleaning Services (Hawley Group) Berkshire, cleaning in 2 schools

Other contracts have not been renewed and the work reverted to direct labour.

*4 refuse collectors were sacked by Exclusivein Eastbourne after they accepted a 20p tipfor clearing extra rubbish. No verbal orwritten warnings were given before thesackings. The 4 workers later received£22,000 compensation for unfair dismissal.*Two disabled street cleaners in Bromleyboth with over 20 years council seNice weresacked by Exclusive Cleaning Services."We are here to make a small profit and wecan't afford the Wally Ponman's and DavidHill's of this world," stated Exclusive'smanager.

ANTI-UNIONACTIVITIESSome contractors will, if publicly pressed,claim that they are not opposed to theiremployeesjoining a union. The reality is quitedifferent.*Wastecare broke agreements with theTGWU in Basingstoke, hired non-uniontemporary workers from agencies, and thensacked 90 per cent of its workforce leading toa long strike and eventual reinstatement.*Exclusive Cleaning Services have triedmany dirty tricks and a wide variety of tacticsto try to prevent NUPE recruiting members onthe Southend refuse contract. After a longstruggle, secret union meetings and so on, alarge majority of workers are now membersand this has led to a long battle to get the firmto recognise and negotiate with the union.*"The denial of the right of the applicant tobe represented by his union (NUPE) wouldappear to be a fundamental breach of naturaljustice" concluded an Industrial Tribunalhaving upheld a former Pritchard ServicesGroup street cleaner's claim against unfairdismissal from the Wandsworth contract.*The Hawley Group has a policy of hiringanti-union managers for its Medicleansubsidiary's NHS cleaning contracts.*Browning Ferris Industries and the othermajor US waste companies have a trackrecord of often vicious anti-union tactics to tryto get rid of trade union organisation.Allegations of Mafia and organised crimeinvolvement have also been widespread.Murders, truck bombings, threats of violence,bribery and corruption have been frequentlyalleged as the large companies rapidly boughtup smaller operators and sought newcontracts.

THE VALUEOFOURWORKWe regularly:*collect all household refuse*keep the streets and pavements clean and freeof litter and weeds*collect and dispose of medical waste fromkidney patients, doctors, dentists, health centres,hospitals and veterinary surgeons*clear the streets and paths of snow and ice*clean and maintain public toilets*operate bottle banks*collect trade waste from businessesand otherpublic seNices*disinfect the streets and gullies in summer*clean bus shelters, road signs and parkingmeters*collect unwanted furniture and household items*operate tips and dumping sites*operate a skip seNice for homes and businesses*clean the lights and landings in blocks of flats*remove night soil waste*empty litter bins*repair and maintain our fleet of specialistvehicles*run an emergency dead animal collectionseNice*clean up after road accidents*deliver free metal bins*operate incinerator which heats certain blocksof flats*operate a confidential document destroyingseNice*run publicity and educational campaigns aboutkeeping the city clean*administer all these seNices.Thiswork is demanding, heavy and has healthhazards.We go out in all kinds of weather and often workunsocial hours.We believe our work is often under-valued andtaken for granted.Without an effective cleansing seNice otherpublic seNices, industry and commerce, leisureand pleasure in Sheffield would sufferdramaticallyWe also believe we are underpaid like manyother manual, craft and clerical public seNiceworkers.We are committed to improving both thestandard of seNice and our jobs - this is the onlywayan effective public seNice can be maintainedand improved.

THE SAVINGSMYTHSIt is a myth that privatisation 'saves publicmoney' The detailed Privatisation Audit*examined all the direct and indirect public costs ofprivatisation. It concluded that contracting out 12seNices in Sheffield would cost £ 17m over a five-year periOd. •Thosewho support the savings mythS ignore thefacts.I. 'savings' never take into account the extensivecosts of increased unemployment benefits,redundancy payments, housing benefits, raterebates, the cost of increased health care causedby higher unemployment, the increased cost ofcouncil initiatives to mitigate the effects ofunemployment, the increased use of councilseNices, nor the loss of income tax, NationalInsurance and VAT.2. the focus on costs often makes crucial cuts andreductions in the level and quality of seNice sothat cost comparisons are meaningless.3. the costs of preparing tenders, monitoring andsupeNision, and the cost increasesfaced by thecouncil once the contract starts are rarelyconsidered.

Any marginal change in the council's budget, atthe expense of government income andexpenditure, will be offset because "nearly fivetimes as many jobs are supported locally per £ 1mof council spending than could be supported byan equivalent amount of rates reduction." (JobsAudit).Nationally, the total public sector cost ofcontracting out local authority refuse collection,street cleansing, cleaning of buildings, catering,parks maintenance and vehicle maintenancecould be a massive £ 1320m over five years.Thatcher's new-found concern over litter and thecleanliness of streets between Downing Streetand Heathrow Airport has led to more gimmicks,exploitation and wild claims about puttingadditional resources into cleansing. The RichardBranson-led UK 2000 clean-up campaign will use22m Community Programme money However;all but £750,000 will fund existing temporary CPjobs redirected to cleaning and 'greening'projects.Only publicly controlled resources using councilworkers can maintain and improve public healthand the environment in Sheffield.

JobsunderDirectLabour

JobsLost

%JobLoss

JOBS DOWN THE DRAINRefuse CollectionWandsworthTandridgeTauntonKensington &

Chelsea Wastecare (BFI)South Oxford PritchardBasingstoke Wastecare (BFI)ValelW/Horse ExclusiveBirmingham Direct LabourSolihull Wastecare (BFI)Refuse and Street CleaningSouthend ExclusiveWirral Waste Mgt.Bath PritchardMerton TaskmasterMilton Keynes ExclusiveEastbourne ExclusiveStreet CleaningWandsworthEalingPublic ToiletsWandsworth InitialVehicle WorkshopsWandsworth Highway \l.M.Total Job Loss- 1085Average reduction in jobs - 37 per centThe table is based on detailed information ofjob lossesat the time of tendering. Additionaljobs were lost in the lead up to tendering caused by management not filling vacant postsand other job cutting methods.Thesejob lossesare offset by contractors taking on additional, often casual labour; once thecontract has started. Contractors regularly 'miscalculate' (either deliberately or throughincompetence) the numbers of workers needed to carry out the specified work.

JobsNow

2165843

1333722

832121

38.436.248.8

Jobs lost when contractors take over

Wastecare (BFI)ExclusiveWaste Man

PritchardExclusive

*242 manual, craft, clerical and managementjobs would be lost in the CleansingDepartment if refuse collection and streetcleansing were to be privatised. Even morejobs would be lost if public toilets and vehiclemaintenance were contracted out.*A further 60 jobs would be lost in privateseNices in Sheffield because the loss of counciljobs together with wage cuts, reductions inholiday and sick pay,changes in the purchaseof supplies, and the export of contractorsprofits will have a knock-on effect on the localeconomy

40597864

71590

6163519

26325

15.027.144.929.736.827.8

34434345

45265

297456

93176104140

213254

52957490

28.344.344.046.028.835.7

84202

41813050

100128

6376

37.040.6

3752

54 46 8 14.8

24 13 11 45.8

EMPLOYERSCHANGEOVERNIGHTWorking for contractors means no security-your employer can change overnight.Takeovers and mergers are increasing as firmsseek to eliminate competition and gain alarger share of the 'market.' Councils arepowerless as responsibility for contracts shiftsfrom one firm to another as a result offinancial deals in the CityCouncillors and officers who claim that theycan control contractors are living an illusion.Ultimate responsibility for 8 council refuse andstreet cleansing contracts in Britain now restsin Houston, USA or Bermuda, the corporateheadquarters of Browning Ferris Industriesand the Hawley Group respectivelyRecent deals have included:

COMPARINGWAGES & CONDITIONSREFUSE COLLECTORItem City Council Contractor (Wastecare, SFI)

Pay-basic £142.98 £125.00piUS bonuses

Overtime When required but not obligatory "Obligatory as and when required"

Overtime pay:Sat Time and a half Time and a halfSun Double time Double time

Method of Weekly. Optional in cash, cheque or Weekly into bank accountpayment direct to bank

~

Hours of work 39 hours 40 hours

Other points "Total flexibility of task and locationof each member of the workforce"

Holidays I years service - 20 days 1years service - 20 days5 or more years - 25 days more than 1 year - 20 days

(max two weeks at one time)

Sick pay AllowanceFull HalfPay Pay

Length of Service (Wks) (Wks) Length of ServiceAfter 6 mths but less than 1yr 4 4 13wks-1 yr-I week half payAfter 1 yr but less than 2 yrs 9 8 1yr - 3 yrs - 2 weeks half payAfter 2 yrs but less than 3 yrs 13 13 3 yrs - 5 yrs - 4 weeks half payAfter 3 yrs but less than 4 yrs 16 16 Over 5 yrs - 6 weeks half payAfter 4 yrs but less than 6 yrs 20 20 (sick pay is half normal basic pay andAfter 6 yrs 26 26 includes any Statutory Sick Pay)

Pension Council Superannuation Scheme May join company's Payroll StaffPension Scheme after I year service

Protective 2 pairs overalls, 2 pairs boots, towels, "Company protective clothingclothing gloves, waterproofs and body warmer provided"

Sources Wastecare Terms & Conditions ofEmployment for Solihull Contract

Contractor/contracts Owner New Owner

Wastecare Grand Metropolitan Browning FerrisWandsworth Industries Inc.SolihullBasingstokeKensington and Chelsea

Taskmaster ADIA SA (Switzerland) Hawley GroupMerton*

Pritchard Industrial Services Pritchard Services Group Hawley GroupBath*South OxfordshireWandsworth t

Exclusive Cleansing Services Brengreen (HOldings) BET picArunBromleytChiltern*EalingtEastbourne*Milton Keynes*PenwithSurrey HeathtSouthend*South Kesteven*TamworthTandridgeVale of White Horse*

*Includes street cleansing tStreet cleansing only

PRIVATISATIONMUSTBERESISTED*Improve and expand public cleansingservices - cuts only encourage contractorsto compete.*Delay implementation of the legislationfor as long as possible.*Impose stringent specifications andcontract conditions on contractors.*Carry out comprehensive comparisons ofthe quality and cost of direct labour withcontractors track records of fines, failuresand saCkings.*Assessthe full public costsof contractingout both to local and central government.*Support the Cleansing workers campaignto educate and organise againstprivatisation. Contact the Convenors Office,Bernard Road Depot, Sheffield S2. Telephone:735518.

Project to Defend and Improve Local AuthoritySeNices and Jobs in Sheffield.

Produced by shop stewards and workers in theCleansing Department, Sheffield City Council, inconjunction with SeNices to Community Actionand Trade Unions (SCAT). We are active in theGMBATU, TWGU, AUEW and NALGO.