Angry cleansing staff at Bradford Council say they have had their calls for a special investigation into a range of grievances rejected by management.

Cleaners had unanimously backed a call for a joint union-management investigation into a raft of issues ranging from allegedly "aggressive management" and attacks on staff to a series of suspensions in the department.

But yesterday talks between management and representatives of the GMB, T&G and Unison unions ended in stalemate over the form any such investigation would take.

Regional union negotiators are next week expected to take over talks on behalf of the department's 300 staff.

The reasons for six suspensions have never been made public, but the row began at Christmas when three staff were suspended on linked allegations.

Later three further staff were suspended for different reasons.

Terry Patten, the Bradford branch secretary of the GMB, said: "There are eight or nine separate issues. There is a major problem with management and staff are demoralised.

"We wanted an independent inquiry but the management wouldn't have it. So what we want now is a union-management investigation.

"It isn't going to go away. They treat our workforce differently from the way they treat the rest of Bradford Council. We are not moving forward until we know what kind of investigation the Council is planning."

Bradford Council's cleansing boss Richard Wixey said senior union negotiators are being called in so the two sides can work within established rules.

"We have said we need to talk to regional officers because we have agreed procedures with our workforce," he said.

"We need to understand the detail of the trade unions' complaints and use established procedures to resolve them rather than having a one-off inquiry."

Mr Wixey said the ongoing dispute should not lead to dirtier streets. "We want to consult and iron out what the issues are in a way which does not affect the service we provide," he said.

The two sides are due to meet on Tuesday to discuss one of the issues, and then with the reg-ional officers later in the week.