A row has broken out amid claims Aberdeen’s bin men and street sweepers are being threatened with fines for smoking on the job.
Unions say staff have been verbally told that anyone caught breaking new council rules on lighting up will be issued by city wardens with a £50 fixed penalty notice.
Last night angry Unite boss Tommy Campbell said the measures, which would mean workmen would have to leave their depots to smoke, said the move had been imposed without any consultation with union members.
But a council spokeswoman said that consultations had been carried out with unions and the policy was part of their “smoke free” strategy.
Mr Campbell said: “We don’t believe that the council has the power to threaten staff with fines and fixed penalty notices, and we have asked them to clarify how they propose to do that legally.
“The council’s management and HR department didn’t discuss this with the unions because clearly we would have rejected the idea of fines out of hand, as well as pointing out that city wardens can only issue fines for unlawful parking and littering.
“Staff have been told that they can still smoke on their designated breaks, but the council has said they will not provide ashtrays or shelters, and that there is to be no smoking anywhere in an enclosed space. Bizarrely, the council says that also includes outside yards.
“This is clearly another example of the ‘us and them’ culture within the city council – we are not aware of any council managers who have been told that they will be subject to fixed penalty fines.”
But a council spokeswoman said: “Following approval by Aberdeen City Council’s Finance, Policy and Resources Committee in June, a revised smoking at work policy was introduced across the organisation at all council properties to protect the health and well-being of employees.
“The policy is in line with the tobacco control strategy for Scotland which recommends all local authorities implement fully smoke-free policies and was approved following extensive consultation with employees.
“The trades unions were also fully consulted on the contents of the revised policy and there were no disagreements on its final provisions.”
