Agenda and minutes

Members of the committee should declare any interests which fall under the following categories:

a)    disclosable pecuniary interests (DPI);

b)    other significant interests (OSI);

c)    voluntary announcements of other interests.

There were no declarations of interest at the meeting.

To receive a presentation updating Members on Veolia’s performance and the recovery plan

The Chairman of Dover District Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Chairman Folkestone and Hythe District Council’s Overview and Scrutiny welcomed those present to the meeting.

Representatives from Veolia introduced themselves, and gave a presentation which updated Members on the East Kent Status Update and Schedule Improvements. A copy of the presentation is appended to these minutes.

The Chairman then invited the two Veolia workforce representatives to speak.  They made points including the following:

·       More consultation with staff was now happening with regard to route changes.

·       Although a 12% pay increase sounded like a lot, the pay was low, and therefore this did not work out as much of an increase.  This also made it difficult to attract new staff.

·       The main issues had been related to the changes in days, and crews working in areas that they were not familiar with, leading to confusion, particularly if some roads did not show up on tablets.

·       The household tonnage had increased due to the Covid lockdowns, more home working and deliveries and had continued.

·       There was also a street cleansing issue with purple sacks where litter bins are being misused and used for domestic or commercial waste.

Members then commented on various issues and made points including the following:

·       How were the staff finding the echo system to use?

·       Were there any ‘black out spots’, in rural areas, where the Echo system would not work?

·       In terms of the pilot starting in the Dover District that day, how much consultation had taken place with staff?

·       What percentage of missed collections were food waste?

·       At the point when the issues arose, Covid had been around for a year, and we had known Brexit was coming since 2016. What improvements to planning have been made in order to be better prepared, rather than reactive?

·       In terms of resourcing, what is the level of resilience now, and what percentage of agency workers were used?

·       Are there any plans in terms of business continuity and resilience following the outcome of the pay negotiations ballot, particularly in the event of industrial action?

·       With regard to the peak in tonnage growth, would this plateau?

·       Had the Ashford transfer station issue been resolved?

·       Was good practice shared with other areas, and are there any other improvements to be made in addition to what has been put forward?

The Veolia staff representatives then responded to points raised, and made points including the following:

·       The Echo system was intuitive and straightforward to use, although the information on the system had been incorrect on occasions.

·       Some long term members of staff had left the organisation, but the turnover seemed to have reached a steady state.

·       Staff had been consulted on the latest pilot, including union staff. A better effort had been made all round.

The Chairman thanked the workforce representatives for their attendance at the meeting.

Representatives from Veolia responded to the various issues raised and made points including the following:

·       Pay negotiations had been an ongoing negotiated process for six  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.