Rubbish plan dumped

9.25.26pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 9th Dec 2005

The immediate threat of a borough-wide bin man strike has been averted after red-faced council chiefs were forced into an embarrassing u-turn over a £120 million contract. Hundreds of Tower Hamlets street cleaners and rubbish collectors had said they could walk out when bosses announced three months ago they were likely to be transferred to new employers.

They were angry after it emerged a new cleaning company, Accord plc, was on the brink of landing a lucrative 11-year contract. The move could have affected worker's terms and conditions. Accord was named "preferred bidder" after beating off higher offers from current contractors Cleanaway and also Onyx, a leaked report in September revealed.

But now the Advertiser has obtained details of a new secret dossier showing Town Hall bosses have changed their minds and decided to keep Cleanaway after all. The document which will be discussed by the council this week reveals Accord's true costs were originally incomplete, while Cleanaway has managed to find some savings. Accord's latest estimates are £10.8 million a year, up £400,000 on its originals while Cleanaway has brought down its bid by £800,000 to £10.7 million, making it the winner and new preferred bidder by £100,000. T&G union spokesman Paul Fawcett said "We're happy with the outcome, but if Cleanaway mess with terms and conditions in their savings, then the strike threat will return."

The development is not only a victory for Cleanaway, which is now set to open detailed negotiations, but also for opposition Lib Dem councillors who had warned about the reliability of the Accord bid. They had claimed a number of cost elements had not been accounted for and council service heads now agree.

But the U-turn is a bitter blow for Tower Hamlets council cabinet member in charge of the tender, Cllr Judith Gardiner, who ignored the Lib Dems' warning. The development is likely to prompt calls for an investigation into why managers approved the original bid and how much money was spent on consultant's advice in the process. But Cllr Gardiner insisted the tender process had been value for money "Consultants have done the job they were asked to do" she said. Council leader Michael Keith admitted the negotiations had been tough and added "We will not be knocked off course and will take the time to get the best deal and if that means changing our mind if new information comes to light or the circumstances of contractors change, so be it".

Neither Cleanaway nor Accord wanted to Comment.

The above story originally appeared in the East London Advertiser of the 1 ST of December 2005