Members of Siptu have voted in favour of proposals to end a dispute over the outsourcing of waste collection services in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Proposals by the Labour Relations Commission include a redundancy and compensation package and the maintenance of direct labour in one of five waste collection services in the council area, the union said.
It said the ballot followed a commitment by the management of the four Dublin local authorities, including Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, to comply with the terms of the Croke Park agreement in respect of the outsourcing of waste collection services.
“The first principle in the Croke Park agreement commits the public sector, including local authorities, to the use of direct labour to the greatest extent possible where consistent with the efficient and effective delivery of public services,” Siptu said in a statement.
“The provisions of the agreement require that any outsourcing of public services can only proceed following discussion with union representatives.
“It was also agreed that any financial savings from the proposals will form part of the surplus for distribution among union members as provided for in the Croke Park agreement.”
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council recently announced it planned to outsource waste collection to Panda, a private company.
Siptu threatened strike action if the move went ahead. The council subsequently agreed to defer the signing of contracts with Panda to allow further discussions take place.
The union said today the four Dublin councils had accepted that “direct labour will continue in the provision of waste collection services across the city and county”.
It also called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to “urgently establish an agreed regulatory framework for waste collection across the country for the benefit of local authority customers and staff”.