Residents in Manchester are now facing bin strikes after workers voted for industrial action to be taken yesterday.
It comes after more than 90% of the workers in the area – who are employed by outsourced waste management company Biffa – voted for industrial action on a turnout of more than 60% with a dispute that’s said to stem from Biffa refusing to increase wages, GMB Union said.
Biffa is refusing to increase wages for the majority of the workers above the 1.75% that local government workers received for 2021, and GMB Union explained that despite “extensive negotiations”, the waste company was still reluctant to increase its offer, even though it’s “a private company and therefore not bound by public sector pay restraint policies”.
Despite its commercial waste operation being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and several lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021, Biffa is still said to have remained “highly profitable”, and recorded pre-tax profits of £26 million last year.
Following the vote for industrial action, GMB Union will now meet with members to discuss dates for the strike – which is said could potentially happen in as little as two weeks’ time.
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Residents in Manchester are now facing bin strikes after workers voted for industrial action to be taken / Credit: Geograph
Strike action could affect up to 220,000 homes in Manchester.
The workers that could be involved in the strike – who are members of both GMB and Unite unions – include drivers, loaders, and environmental operatives.
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Speaking on the results of the vote, Michael Clark – Regional Organiser at GMB Union – said: “Manchester’s residents now face a bin strike. The city’s refuse collectors and street scene services worked through the pandemic, doing a tough job, now they need help to get them through the biggest fall in living standards for 50 years.
“We urge Biffa to come back to us with a decent offer to stop this strike before it begins.”
More than 90% of the workers in the area voted for industrial action / Credit: Flickr (via oatsy40)
A Biffa spokesperson told the MEN in response: “We are in active and ongoing negotiations with the unions and remain committed to reaching a solution as quickly as possible.”
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A Manchester City Council spokesperson also told the MEN following the vote: “We are aware of the ballot decision today to go ahead with industrial action and we will continue to work with Biffa, and we will monitor the situation while negotiations are ongoing to reach a solution and avoid strike action.
“We will continue to put plans in place to minimise potential disruption during any planned strike action.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
Emily Sergeant -
13th April 2022 
