Dublin City Council to object to Greyhound contract renewal

Members of Dublin City Council are set to object to the renewal of the authority's contract with Greyhound Recycling, when it comes up for renewal in a matter of weeks.

Council management has confirmed it is to put the contract for collection of waste from council flats, currently awarded to Greyhound, out to tender in the next fortnight. The award of the contract is a reserved function of the council’s chief executive.

However, a number of councillors have said they will object to the renewal of the contract if it goes to Greyhound, while others are expected to support a resolution demanding certain employment standards in all companies with which the council does business.

People Before Profit Alliance member Brid Smith said she was prepared to table a motion that Greyhound Recycling should not be awarded a renewal of the contract "in the strongest possible terms".

Ms Smith said this was only partly due to the current workers’strike at Greyhound, but also because of complaints from householders in relation to the service.

She said she understood the award for the contract was a reserved function of council management, but believed the views of many councillors, in her group, and the parties which held a majority on the council, should not be ignored.

Green Party councillor Ciaran Cuffe said he too would have reservations about a new contract being awarded to Greyhound recycling.

While he said it could be “dangerous” for councillors to attempt to direct the placing of a contract, he believed there was nothing to stop them resolving that the council should only award a contract to any company which met certain standards of employment and workers’ rights.

“I would suggest the conditions of any contract be examined. It is worth looking at the conditions of employment offered by all those who have contracts with Dublin City Council. Workers should have decent pay and conditions if we don’t try and ensure that there is a danger of a race to the bottom”, he said.

A spokesman for Greyhound Recycling said the company did not want to comment on any aspect of its business while negotiations with staff in relation to the current strike were ongoing.

In a statement last week the council said its Housing and Residential Services Department contract with Greyhound has been in place since April 2013. “The Council will shortly go to tender for the provision of the service,” it added. Asked for clarification of “shortly”, the council said it would go to tender before the end of this month.

Workers at Greyhound recently rejected proposals to end the long running dispute at the company which emerged from the Labour Relations Commission.

The workers, who have been locked out of the company depots in west Dublin since mid-June, rejected an offer which included pay cuts and redundancy terms.