Moreland Council to take tenders for northern rubbish collection

Jobs could be thrown out after an inner north council decided to take tenders for waste collection. Almost 20 jobs are on the line as garbos scramble to put together reasons to keep the service in house.

Moreland Council’s in house waste collection could be contracted out. Picture: Ellen Smith

Almost 20 waste workers could be out of a job as Moreland Council opens up the possibility of outsourcing rubbish collection in the north of the municipality.

All rubbish north of Bell St in Moreland is currently collected by the council’s service. But it will now accept tenders to contract out collection.

The council currently collects all waste in the north of Moreland

Workers were made aware of the council’s plan to test the market just 24 hours before it was seen behind closed doors as confidential business at a council meeting on Wednesday night.

Multiple workers attended the meeting with signs asking to keep their jobs.

The workers, believed to be 18 drivers, were then informed the council would put the service to market at a meeting on Thursday morning.

The in-house service will also be given the opportunity to offer a tender to maintain rubbish collection.

The Australian Services Union will assist the workers to create that tender and find ways to cut corners financially.

ASU branch executive president Billy King said the union opposed outsourcing the waste service.

Tenders will be considered in August.

“We have seen that council outsourcing leads to insecure work for hardworking council staff and reduced services for local communities,” he said.

“The outcomes for Moreland would be the same were services to be contracted out.”

The council’s director of city infrastructure Grant Thorne said the decision to open the service to the market was made with both monetary and customer consideration in mind.

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“Council’s in-house service costs approximately $1.5 million more and receives 30 per cent more complaints than the equivalent service operating under a contracted service, south of Bell St,” he said.

“After two years of working with existing staff and the Australian Services Union to improve the quality and efficiency of the service in the north of Moreland, the gap in service remains.”

Tenders will be received by the council next month, with a decision likely to be made in December.