LIVE: Tipperary wheelie bin workers serve new strike action notice

Thousands of households in Tipperary and neighbouring counties face a renewed threat of losing their bin collection service after workers rejected a deal negotiated as part of Bord na Móna's plan to exit waste collection.

SIPTU members who are employed at Bord na Móna Recycling rejected a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) proposal aimed at resolving the protracted privatisation dispute.

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The workers will now serve notice of strike action on the company which is owned by taxpayers.

SIPTU Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane commented in a statement following the 61% to 39% vote. 

“The strike committee met last night and unanimously agreed to reinstate the notice of strike and industrial action. Notice has been served on the company today, and our members are determined to see this through. The planned action will begin with a one-day strike on Thursday, June 19, escalating to two days the following week and three days the week after. Our members don’t want to be in this position but feel they have no choice,” he said.

The SIPTU statement said the primary reason for rejecting the WRC proposal was the company’s failure to agree to a Registered Employment Agreement (REA), which would guarantee worker protections for terms and conditions in the event of a sale.

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He said: “The fire sale of Bord na Móna Recycling is bad for workers, customers, and the environment. It makes no economic or environmental sense. The Department has initiated a consultation on transitioning to single-tender provision per local authority area, so why privatise the last remaining publicly owned domestic waste provider?”

Workers initially voted by a majority of 95% in March for strike action to take place in April 2 and 3. This was called off after workers agreed to talks with the company.

Soon afterwards, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) cleared, subject to legally binding commitments, the controversial proposed acquisition by KAES Recycling Holdings Ltd, part of the KWD (Killarney Waste Disposal) Group, of Bord na Móna Recycling Ltd.

In clearing the deal, the Commission said steps had to be taken by the Kerry company to ensure there was competition in Leinster and Munster where it operated.

The CCPC also said that the waste business is not delivering strong outcomes for consumers in Laois and elsewhere.

KWD Group is a group of businesses owned and controlled by Seán Murphy/his family. The CCPC says Bord na Móna Recycling Limited Recycling collects and processes more than 340,000 tonnes of waste from over 133,000 customers annually.

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Bord na Móna Recycling Limited, which is owned by taxpayers, caters to both domestic and commercial and industrial sectors. It services customers in counties Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Louth, Meath, Cavan, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Roscommon, Tipperary, Clare and Limerick.

Bord na Móna was reportedly in line to sell for €55 million.

That would mean a multi-million loss to the taxpayer as Bord na Móna paid €61 million for the waste management company, formerly known as Advanced Environmental Solutions (Ireland), in 2007.