A special report on the ever-changing operation of Thurrock's waste collection services. Nub News editor Neil Speight produces a detailed record of the dialogue between the borough's leading environmental services councillor and one of his biggest critics. Undoubtedly some of the responses represent a sea change of emphasis in line with the council's newly trumpeted policy of openess and transparency and - for the first time - the council accepts the blame for much of the failing in worker relationships that led to last year's bin strikes. To summarise, the council admits it did not value its staff enough!

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IN a frank response to questions about the state of Thurrock Council's waste bin collection service, a leading Conservative has conceded errors in the past – that were previously fervently denied by the administration and cloaked under an official veil of secrecy – contributed to major problems and an unreliable service for Thurrock residents.

Cllr Andrew Jefferies, the portfolio holder for environmental services, was responding to questions from Labour councillor Sara Muldowney at a meeting of the council's 'Cleaner Greener' overview and scrutiny committee.

Looking back over a tortuous two years of poor relations between the council and its environmental workforce – which included a six week bin strike in the spring of last year – Cllr Jefferies says the council cannot be absolved from its role in poor industrial relations, admitting it did not value its workers enough.

The sea change in public statements from an authority that has previously been brutal in its condemnation of unions and striking workers, comes in the wake of the financial crisis that has seen the council's CEO, Lyn Carpenter, removed from her job and put on leave while an official government investigations looks into the mismanagement of the council.

The shadow of Lyn Carpenter's badly judged decision making still hangs over council

Ms Carpenter was undoubtedly the single most influential force in what became a battle of the bins in 2021, with workers slamming her for her abrasive attitude, secrecy and obsession with control.

Now she is not around, it appears the pangs of guilt and remorse are shaping new council policy.

In September the council announced it was going to 'reset' its waste bin collections services in a bid to come up with a cogent and cohesive plan for the future.

That included suspending some collection services, catching up on the backlog and investigating just what was happening in the waste collection service.

The outcome – after just a couple of weeks, has seen the council not only establish a full collection service but it has employed more staff, set up a monitoring service to make sure staff shortages do not precipitate more crisis situations and it says it will put the welfare of staff and an understanding of their needs to the forefront of its waste management policy.

The words of Cllr Jefferies, who for the first time admits significant failings in management and how council staff were treated, will be welcome news to bin crews – and their families.

During last year's fractious strike Thurrock Nub News featured several articles condemning the council for being uncaring, blind to reason and arrogant. The wives and families of workers who dared not speak up contacted us to say just how much pressure was being brought to bear on workers who simply wanted to do a fair day's work, for a fair day's pay.

At the time Cllr Jefferies found himself defending what he now appears to recognise was the indefensible.

For example, in the wake of a statement from workers and the Unite union that Thurrock Council was 'brutal' in its approach to bins staff Cllr Jefferies took to the front foot and poured scorn on both, saying there were lies involved in a tit-for-tat war of words.

Opinions vary on who 'won' the strike battle, but it concluded at the end of last May with the unions claiming victory. An article in the left-wing Tribute magazine hailed borough bin workers for their triumph.

But the strike and its resolution is just a part of a long story that continues to unravel.

With workers back in harness the council announced further plans to reshape the waste collection service, expounding the value of fortnightly collections and the introduction of new services like a food caddy collection system.

Supposed to come into force in September just gone, those reforms were ultimately abandoned, though they remain part of the long term agenda. A sort of 'ghost of bin collections' yet to come as the Scrooge-like, embattled and cash-strapped council attempts to rethink its future.

Consultants have been brought in to try and reshape the service. It appears that now the yolk of command dictated by Ms Carpenter has been unshackled, a big rethink is happening. That prompted the launch of the 'resedt' programme.

Undoubtedly problems remain, but it does seem that positive steps have been taken – many that were revealed in Cllr Jefferies' latest inquisition at the hands of Cllr Muldowney.

Thurrock bin workers were not listened too says Cllr Andrew jefferies.

Asked to explain what had happened, he appeared to speak from a completely changed position – admitting fault and accepting responsibility. He also went out of his way to stress the blame for problems did not belong with the workforce.

Initially he was asked about the impact of the recent protest action by the JustStopOil group which involved road closures, traffic delays and general inconvenience in the areas immediately around the council's principal waste depot and bin wagon HQ in West Thurrock.

He said: "We did what we could to try and continue the service.

"It didn't have the impact of completely stopping the whole service, but it had an impact on a very short period of time when we should have been collecting bins."

Eco campaigners did cause a pause in Thurrock bin collections but impact was not major says Cllr Jefferies.

As the conversation developed, it became clear that Cllr Jefferies was in placatory mood and he refused to be driven into playing the blame game on the protest and refusted social media speculation that truculence by council staff had resulted in a 'go slow', saying: "Problems are down to numerous issues that we have had for 12 months,

"I've never said it was a go slow and I have never blamed the problems we have been having in the waste service entirely on protesters. They have exacerbated it, they made it even more difficult to collect bins, but it was not just the sole reason for not being able to collect bins."

Asked by Cllr Muldowney what the other reasons were he said: "A whole host of things. There was industrial action that was taken. There was poor relations between the people that were working and the people that were managing. That had an impact, most definitely and swift enough action was not taken to resolve that.

"We did not do enough to make sure our bin crews, who go out in rotten weather, hot or cold, were appreciated. It's a smelly, dirty job and they were not made to feel valued enough. That needs to be addressed.

"There were certainly issues around some of the management of the site.

"There were employee issues that needed to be resolved if I can bring that up, though I cannot bring up personal details for obvious reasons,

"Then also the other thing that's had an impact is drivers. We've had a shortage of drivers. There are other councils around this area that are also having problems in recruiting drivers.

"HGV drivers can pick and choose where they want to go and probably driving a cart is not top of their list, they want to go elsewhere. We've had that problem as well.

"The other issue that we had, and I am pleased that we have now got on top of it, is we did have a lot of agency staff. I'm a great believer that if we've got agency staff, if we can, we make them permanent employees so you get that loyalty, you get that trust. They actually want to work for us and do a good job.

"Most live in the area so they are collecting, as residents, the bins of people that they know and their neighbours.

"We have now reduced the dependency of agency staff and taken on more permanent employees."

Cllr Muldowney intervened to ask it the aborted plan to changes services was reason for having an increase in agency staff, saying: "Are we right in saying that you had so many agency staff because you were going to two weekly green bin collection?

The plans - and frustration of workers - was highlighted in a Thurock Nub news story in April this year.

Cllr Jefferies responded: "There were going to be some changes, yes. We were going to introduce changes in September to the frequency of the collections and introduce some new services.

"That could have resulted in a reduction of the number of staff that was required so as an operational thing that was the decision that was taken, but once we decided that wasn't going to be the case we changed tack and employed people."

Changes to policy have happened but things will get better pledges Cllr Andrew Jefferies.

Explaining why there were changes, Cllr Jefferies said: "The environment act was coming through. The government could change things significantly to do with things like separate food collection, the brown bin collections as well.

"With that doubt over those things it was decided that we would probably be best to hold off

"The other thing, and I have made no bones about this, we weren't actually collecting the rounds we were meant to be collecting."

Speaking directly to Cllr Muldowney he continued: "As you know - we have exchanged many, many emails over the last six months about bin collections - I personally felt that with the uncertainly of what the government was going to actually do and ask us to do, we needed to stabilise the service."

Cllr Muldowney was hesitant to accept government intervention was a significant factor, saying: "The environment act came into being in November 2021, so what is the uncertainty around the environment act?"

Cllr Jefferies responded: "There are potential further changes that the government might do. They may introduce, for example, additional funding for councils for collection of food waste so we felt that rather than rush into it we would hold fire."

Focus then turned to the recent 'reset'. When asked when brown bin collections would restart, Cllr Jefferies was able to say they would be resumed immediately.

Cllr Paul Arnold then joined the exchange to ask what steps were being taken regarding future recruitment

Cllr Jefferies said: "We are recruiting at the moment; we have recruited some additional drivers over the last couple of weeks and we are looking at loaders as well.

"Officers have assured me that now what we are going to do is make sure that we have got a baseline and if we get close to that baseline we then start to advertise and get people back in.

Committee chair Cllr Joy Redsell intervened to say: "It's good to hear you are putting measures in place to make the bin staff feel more wanted and appreciated . That makes them feel a bit better. In every job you do you need to feel it's a job that is worthwhile.

"I think most of us residents know how much they do and what they do and it's good that you are doing things to make them feel appreciated. It's not a very nice job to do, nobody really wants to do it so it's good that we are doing something to make them feel that it's a worthwhile job."

Cllr Jefferies explained some of the things that had been implemented this summer – which was exceptionally hot and produced extremely difficult working conditions for manual workers. At times collection services were suspended becaseu of the heat.

He said: "One of the things we did during the summer was to introduce shorts, because previously they were having to wear long trousers. Water and sun lotion and safari style hats were provided."

Cllr Jefferies again referred to what he hoped would be a change of attitude within the council, particularly among its management.

He said: "There's lots of things we do across the whole council that people that work can send thoughts back and come up with suggestions and hopefully officers will start to act on that.

"We need to actually listen to what our people are saying."

Cllr Muldowney was determined to continue to hold Cllr Jefferies to account and wanted to know why key performance indicators (KPI) which monitor progress had not been recorded.

In what might be interpreted as a swipe at defensive bureaucracy and producing massaged figures, Cllr Jefferies said he supported the move to suspend reporting KPIs because they had become far removed from reality. He said he wanted to see real figures that meant something, adding: "We need to change the reporting system, to monitor how many bins have been missed. For me I want to set a KPI in recycling when we can accurately say that the figures are."

Service performance needs to be monitored, councillors agree.

Cllr Muldowney was clearly not impressed and pressed Cllr Jefferies to come up with some figures, saying: "I would like to see a true picture of what is happening now. Can the data be shared with me? I don't accept looking at figures now would be meaningless."

Cllr Jefferies responded: "Let me take it away and look at it. I would rather give figures that are accurate and meaningful, but by all means I will go back and see what we can do."

Cllr Muldowney also moved onto the whereabout and content on a report that had been promised into the environmental services operation, saying: "Where is the promised report in July that went to the CEO?"

Cllr Jefferies attempted to waltz around the question, saying: "We have had a consultant working with us that has brought forward a number of improvements already. Probably it will be later next year that the full finding of the review comes out though anything that can be done in the interim, we hope to do."

Cllr Muldowney would not be put off and asked bluntly: "What happened to the report on the CEO's desk."

Cllr Jefferies gave up any form of pretence and in a clear nod to the failings of the now ousted top officer, whose reluctance to share information with elected members is becoming increasingly apparent, said: "You will have to ask the CEO.

"I have seen part of it, but parts of it were redacted. I have not seen the whole report."

He added that some parts of the report he had been allowed to see had prompted action, saying: "Some of the things we have done includes health and safety, a representative is now on site , additional training is in place. A lot of things are operational, not something I would get involved in on a day-to-day basis, but some of them are about improving the conditions of people out the field to make them feel wanted and valued."

"Let's hope it works", concluded Cllr Muldowney.

She also appears less than convinced Cllr Jefferies' rhetoric is genuine and she wants more answers. Speaking after the meeting she said: "We welcome confirmation that the Tories has listened to our call to reinstate the brown bin collections but remain none the wiser as to the real reasons for the chaos we have seen on the bins for over a year now.

"This was the perfect opportunity for Cllr Jeffries to explain what has gone wrong, apologise for the appalling service and tell us what he's doing to put it right. Unfortunately, this is typical of the way Thurrock Conservatives run the council - there is a total lack of leadership, accountability and grip, and it's residents who are suffering as services like bin collections continue to be chaotic."