.gif)
The workers will be offered their jobs back and will be contracted to outsourcing company Biffa for a year, while the council retenders the contract. The approximately 150-strong workforce are employed on street cleaning and grounds maintenance contracts.
Problems arose on the contract last month when Fountains (previously part of Connaught) went into administration. The company was bought out by OCS, but 450 workers (including all the staff in Norwich) were made redundant with immediate effect.
Since that time, Ucatt, which represents the majority of the affected workforce, has been campaigning and working with the council to ensure that the workers were offered their jobs back.
Under the terms of the deal the workers will be offered contracts broadly in line with their previous terms and conditions. Core areas such as wage rates, holidays and sickness payments will remain unchanged.
Ucatt eastern regional secretary Brian Rye said: “I am very pleased by this decision, which is in the best interests of the local community, the council and the workers. It has been achieved through long and detailed negotiations. It is now essential that the workers get back to work as soon as possible.”
Due to the workers being made redundant in January, Ucatt will be filing employment tribunal cases for a failure to inform and consult. Redundancy pay and any lost earnings prior to 23 January 2012 for the affected workers are being handled by the Redundancy Payments Office and these claims have already been submitted.
Mr Rye added: “These workers have experienced a highly stressful time over recent weeks. They lost their jobs through absolutely no fault of their own and Ucatt will do everything it can to ensure that they receive what they are entitled to.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
