A dispute over the introduction of wheelie bins leaves 60,000 homes in south Dublin without refuse collection.
Over 60,000 homes in the south Dublin area have not had a bin collection in five days because of a dispute over the introduction of wheelie bins by South Dublin County Council (SDCC).
The public is beginning to get angry as bins and rubbish sacks are piling up on the streets,
It's terrible really, absolutely terrible, you know, there’s a lot of people going to be affected.
The strike is over the introduction of wheelie bins. The unions representing the refuse workers, Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) and Automotive, General Engineering and Mechanical Operatives' Union (AGEMOU), say they do not object to using the new bins. However SDCC want them to meet new efficiency targets even before the new system has been implemented.
According to SIPTU branch secretary John Glennon, under the new system bin collections demand more productivity without any additional pay.
A huge increase in productivity and so forth and for nothing.
South Dublin County Council disagrees pointing out 67 of its 120 bin collectors have received a once of £1,000 payment. Assistant Manager of SDCC Denis Carter states they are abiding with an agreement made with unions in December 1996.
We have an agreement that is a month old and we should not have an industrial dispute on our hands at this stage.
SDCC is asking the unions involved to call off the strike and to agree to an independent chairperson to resolve the issues that led to the dispute.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 February 1997. The reporter Anne-Marie Smyth.
