Cleansing workers were attending a meeting at Bradford's Harris Street depot today protesting about "aggressive management".

Members of the GMB and Unison also want more protection from Bradford Council for binmen and street cleaners who are suffering attacks as they work.

The staff are complaining about the length of time taken over investigations into six workers who have been suspended on different issues.

GMB Bradford branch secretary Terry Patten said morale had been "rock bottom" in the depot which has 300 staff.

He added: "It has gone up a notch or two since the meeting was arranged and we are expecting more than 100 people there. We have told the members we want them to speak out about problems and be really honest about how they feel."

Mr Patten said he could not comment on the suspensions but a worker, who did not want to be named, said they were about different issues and the workers had been suspended on full pay. The worker said investigations had been going on for a total of a year.

A petition is being circulated around the depot.

Mr Patten said: "The workers are very concerned because they say they are suffering from aggressive management.

"There is also a view that the Council should be doing more to protect workers because of attacks. In the past year there have been a number of them and in one instance a pellet was fired at an employee in Ravenscliffe. We feel there are a great many more which are not reported."

Patrick Kerry, a lead negotiator for Unison, said: "We have concerns about the way staff are treated. There seem to be different rules for blue collar and white collar workers."

Bradford Council's director of environmental protection Richard Wixey said: "Three employees have been suspended since Christmas in connection with a series of linked allegations. A further three employees have also recently been suspended on separate allegations.

"The Council considers whether it is appropriate to suspend an employee very carefully and all investigations are conducted in accordance with the council's procedures and as quickly as possible. However, in some cases the complexity of the investigation necessitates an extended period of suspension.

"I understand that the trade unions have raised their concern regarding the level of assaults on staff. There have been a small number of cases where employees have been physically or verbally abused.

"The department takes all incidents of physical and verbal abuse very seriously. All incidents are recorded, investigated and action is taken where appropriate."