Laois wheelie bin strike threat on table as workers demand to meet Minister
Bord na Móna needs final approval from Government before it can sell
A multi-million euro deal to by a State-owned company to sell its Laois waste collection service must be scrutinised by TDs before the Minister gives his seal of approval.
Bord na Móna has provided waste services in Laois and Midlands counties since 2007 it bought AES out of private ownership for €61 million. It has a significant number of customers in Portlaoise, Portarlington and Mountmellick as well as other parts of Laois.
Despite significant investment in the business, the semi-state entity wants to dispose of the business and has agreed a deal to exit the waste sector. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared, subject to legally binding commitments, the controversial proposed acquisition by KAES Recycling Holdings Ltd, part of the KWD (Killarney Waste Disposal) Group.
Workers have opposed the deal via the country's biggest trade union - SIPTU. At one point they voted to strike to prevent a change to pay and conditions.
While this threat was withdrawn, SIPTU remain opposed to the idea. It has called on the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien, to meet with them to discuss what it says are the serious concerns raised by the CCPC concerning the dysfunctional operation of domestic waste collection services.
SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane, outlined the union's stance in a statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.
“The CCPC Chair, Brian McHugh, acted in the best interests of the public last week when he issued a statement highlighting the environmental, consumer and societal impacts of the current dysfunctional domestic waste collection market.
“McHugh made clear his view that strict State regulation of the sector is essential and called on the Government to take action on a 2018 CCPC report on the domestic waste collection market. This report called for an ‘economic regulator that could set out the optimal market structure for the Irish waste market and inform an overall review of Government waste management policy’.
“SIPTU representatives have been seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister for weeks concerning the proposed sale of Bord na Móna (BNM) Recycling, the last publicly owned domestic waste collection service. If we are to improve the domestic waste collection services in this State, in the manner which the CCPC has called for, this vital public utility cannot be sold into private hands," he said.
The union also wants TDs and Senators to step in.
“This sale needs to be fully scrutinised by the Oireachtas. Our members are calling on opposition parties to ensure that the proposed sale is examined at a hearing by a Joint Oireachtas Committee prior to it being considered by the Minister, who has final responsibility concerning its approval,” said Mr Kane
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Pat McCabe, said union representatives are engaged in ongoing talks with Bord na Móna concerning a Registered Employment Agreement for its members in BNM Recycling which would protect their terms and conditions of employment if any sale does go ahead.
"The company is refusing to work with the Union on such an agreement and failure to do so will result in currently suspended industrial action at the company going ahead,” he said.
Bord na Móna was reportedly in line to sell for €55 million, which would represent a significant loss on the money originally spent on AES for the benefit of taxpayers.
KWD Group is a group of businesses owned and controlled by Seán Murphy/his family. The CCPC says Bord na Móna Recycling Limited collects and processes more than 340,000 tonnes of waste from over 133,000 customers annually.
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.