By Sara Oliver

REFUSE collectors in west Wiltshire claim they are being given no chance to bid fairly for their own jobs.

The bin men claim the service has been under-funded by West Wiltshire District Council for so many years that they are operating with worn-out vehicles that regularly break down.

They are fighting plans by the council to privatise the service, and invite private firms to bid for the contract to empty the district's bins from next September.

Urgent talks will be held on Monday between the council and Direct Work Services staff to discuss the workforce's calls for money so they can tender on the same footing as private bidders.

GMB union regional organiser Frank Minal said: "They have agreed to meet with us to discuss the financial position of the service. They seem to understand what we are saying that the in-house bid would not be able to compete with external competitors because the service has been under-resourced for a number of years."

He said private firms would have far more resources available, whereas the in-house team were operating on a shoestring.

Last week the bin men staged a mass demonstration with their lorries outside the council offices to protest against plans to put the in-house service out to tender.

The council acted quickly this week to reassure the DWS workforce that no final decision would be made for at least ten months.

Corporate officer Will Godfrey said: "DWS has said it wants to continue running the service. We now have to consider whether we have the resources to support that. The most important thing is making sure we secure the best terms and conditions for the staff, and establish the best service we can for local residents.

"This is the very beginning of a process that has more than 10 months to run, so we are not going to rush into a decision."

Cllr Adrian Fox said: "We fully understand the concerns of the staff and I promise that we are listening. We will continue to discuss everything with them, and members have agreed to meet with the staff to talk things through face to face. This is a difficult time but we are committed to getting the best possible deal for everyone."