Keeping the planet green and clean – but will austerity delay progress ?

(Brussels, 21 January 2011) The European waste sector is set to grow and will see an increase in employment was one of the issues discussed at the EPSU waste group. The focus on reduction, re-using and recycling is broadly supported by the unions. There is a general expectation that the collection and sorting of the different waste streams will require higher skilled workers . But at the same time pressures on public budgets and local governments can lead to search the cheapest options, prolonging landfill in some countries, put pressure on those authorities and agencies that have to check the waste (and waste transports) to ensure hazardous and other wastes are not mixed and pose risks to workers and public health. There is concern about reports from Italy where the government appears not capable of dealing with the collection and safe disposal of waste which puts pressure on workers and public health. Another concern remains the use of sub-contractors. These contracts are often not stable, workers do not always receive appropriate protection, training and pay and conditions. Unions noted also that in some countries there is a dash for incineration with the phasing out of landfill. Higher oil prices make this also an attractive option when energy prices go up. Waste and different fractions are more and more a commodity. The pressure of municipalities to seek lower prices contributes to the often cut-throat competition whereby companies accept contracts that are not given a sufficient rate of return. To compensate the companies cut in staff, do not invest in equipment and new technologies, drive up working tempo’s with the consequent pressures on health and safety and wages.

This EPSU group received a presentation of current EU discussions, including on the preparation of the Flagship on Resource Efficiency which should also focus on the reduction, reuse and recycling of wastes. This is linked with the broader EU 2020 strategy. But the Annual Growth Survey of the European Commission can be regarded as a re-prioritising with the focus on public spending cuts, a more flexible labour market through challenging employment protection legislation against dismissals and the rapid acceptance of the Single Market Act which calls for rapid implementation of the Services Directive and extending it to other sectors. The unions continue to have serious concerns about the proposal of the Commission to propose a so-called Concessions directive. Its advantages are not clear and the reasons not well proven. The position is similar as those of many organizations in the waste sector and the European Parliament.

Workers in the waste sector also discussed a number of collective bargaining issues.

An example is a Swedish company active in Norway using Polish workers hired through a Multinational Temporary Agency at pay and conditions far below the Norwegian collective agreement and when the Polish workers exposed the work practices they were replaced by Estonian workers. Unions have exposed this and seek to organize and represent the different workers and ensure that they are protected against exploitation. Unions noted difficult collective bargaining situations in several countries especially in the public services with governments seeking wage freezes or wage cuts. Public companies are demanded cuts in operational costs sometimes as much as 15%, and governments encourage companies to break open and violate collective agreements. The EPSU WISUTIL project could assist in exposing such tendencies and unions were requested to contribute by circulating the survey of the wage indicator project among their members. EPSU will continue to collect pay and conditions information.

Related to this, the group considered the social dimension of procurement. The forthcoming review of the EU’s procurement directive should include consideration of the social standards. Public contracts needs substantial social and environmental chapters to ensure local governments and other public bodies do not use tax-payers money to contribute to such practices. These will undermine not only collective agreements but are also dangerous for the social fabric in municipalities as they fuel resentment and create groups vulnerable to exploitation. Municipalities should further invest more in the monitoring and sanctioning of companies not respecting the terms and quality standards of a contract. An example was given of a company that lost its contract after the unions drew the attention of the municipality to underperformance but ultimately has to run a political campaign to persuade the city council to cancel the contract. Unions noted that municipalities too often seek bids a the lowest price rather than select the economically most advantageous offer.

Health and safety issues are very important to waste workers. Colleagues discussed a range of health and safety issues:
- Consider the impact of the collection of waste and the tempo of work. Swedish research indicates the high levels of physical stress involved. It makes it difficult for workers to actually reach retirement age healthy. A Dutch norm says that employers have to take all measures to ensure workers reach retirement age. The measures for collection, for sorting, incineration, for composting and other processes of dealing with waste are collected in a socalled health and safety catalogue available online allowing all workers to also check their rights.

- Possible use of the
medical sharps directive to prevent needle stick injuries for waste workers (collection, sorting…). Such accidents are a great concern as needles can be infected. The European Bio-Safety network seeks to enlarge coverage of the directive and this could be beneficial for waste workers.

- A set of principles can be developed for health and safety in the sector at a European scale. Consideration is to be given to the standards developed at national and European level.

The unions considered the possibilities for Social Dialogue with European employers in the sector. A survey will be circulated to explore this further. A paper with aims and suggestions for possible issues was considered and will be a basis for further work. Issues that are important for employers and unions include addressing health and safety, working on social paragraph in procurement to prevent companies undermine pay and conditions under pressure of constraints on public budgets and investing in skills and qualifications for the work force of the future.

To draw attention to many of the problems and to the work of waste workers the unions considered a European Day of Action in November 2011. Colleagues attending the work group will continue to function as a network for advice, feedback and action. The meeting took place 19 January 2011, Brussels.

Documents for the meeting are available here.