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2 days ago
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Birmingham city council has declared a major incident over an ongoing bin strike, saying the daily blocking of depots by picket lines means vehicles are unable to pick up 17,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish across the city.
The council said it was unable to carry out its contingency plan due to striking workers blocking lorries on the picket line, and that there was now a risk to public health.
John Cotton, the leader of the council, said: “It’s regrettable that we have had to take this step, but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham.
“I respect the right to strike and protest; however, actions on the picket line must be lawful and sadly the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city’s environment.
“Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service’s contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets or improve the frequency of collections.”
Residents across the city have reported huge piles of rubbish stacked up on streets that are attracting rats, during a week when council tax is due to increase by 7.5%.
Declaring a major incident means the council can now seek support from neighbouring councils and the government, and increase its street cleansing and fly-tip removal.
It said the level of uncollected waste in the city had increased from 483 tonnes a day in the week of 10 March, to almost 900 tonnes a day in the week of 24 March.
The number of properties receiving one bin collection a week had declined from 87% to 17% in the same time period. Recycling, green waste and bulky waste collection have all been suspended during the strike.
Negotiations between Unite, representing the striking bin workers, and the Labour-led council have soured in recent weeks, and strikers have been accused of blocking bin lorries staffed by agency workers from leaving depots. The council said it could often get only one vehicle out an hour.
On Sunday, the Unite leader, Sharon Graham, accused the council of “bullyboy tactics” and said its behaviour was “absolutely disgusting”, reiterating that members would not back down.
Last week, the council said it was considering compulsory redundancies for workers who had declined its offers, and negotiations were due to resume on Monday.
Unite’s national lead officer, Onay Kasab, said: “Rather than look for solutions to the strike the council instead announced that it will make workers, who have already seen their pay massively cut, redundant, while it has refused to rule out pay cuts for drivers. Unite will ensure these redundancies do not take place.”
Bin workers have been striking since January in a dispute over council plans to scrap the waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) role from its fleets.
The council states the role does not exist in other local authorities and if kept, it would risk creating a “huge future equal pay liability”. Birmingham city council declared effective bankruptcy in 2023, largely due to an equal pay bill.
Unite said removing the role was “the first step in a broader campaign of attacks against pay and terms and conditions” for bin workers.
Cotton said: “I would reiterate that we have made a fair and reasonable offer to our workers which means none of them have to lose any money and I would urge Unite to reconsider their position.”
