South Wales Evening Post - 24 January 2007
Talks are ongoing between Swansea Council and its army of street cleaners and refuse collectors.
Workers are unhappy over a number of issues and have asked union leaders to speak to council bosses.
Staff are unhappy at proposed changes to their working week and their lunch hour.
They are also unhappy that the tendering process for a company to dispose of the city's waste also included rubbish collection.
Staff are worried it could pave the way for the service to be privatised.
They claim that it would mean they were unable to put forward an in-house option for consideration, because they would not be operating on a level playing field.
Jeff Baker, Unison branch secretary, said talks were ongoing with council staff who were considering a one-off payment of £500 offered to address their concerns about the proposed changes to their working practices.
He said: "There is not another group in the authority that is facing this."
Mr Baker added staff were concerned over proposals for streets to be cleaned on the basis of need.
He said: "That does seem common sense, but what will the public think?
"They may not want their streets left alone."
A spokesman for Swansea Council said the authority was currently negotiating with the unions over terms and conditions for staff.
He said: "It is wrong for the unions to claim certain parts of the city are not receiving the service needed."
