Council refuse workers begin indefinite strike amid row over jobs and pay

Nearly 400 council bin workers in Birmingham have walked out indefinitely as part of an escalating dispute over jobs and pay.

The Unite union has warned bin disruption in the city could stretch into the summer after refuse workers voted in favour of extending their strike mandate over the council’s use of temporary labour to “undermine” their industrial action.

Unite said its members face pay cuts after the scrapping of waste collection and recycling officer roles, despite already voluntarily accepting cuts to pay and terms and conditions after the council declared bankruptcy.

“The council is forcing dedicated workers on to pay levels barely above the minimum wage while undertaking a difficult and highly demanding job in all weathers.

“Disruption to Birmingham’s refuse service will further deteriorate but this is the fault of a heartless council which has slashed pay without a thought to the effect it is having on workers and their families.”

In a statement issued at the end of February, Birmingham City Council said the escalation of industrial action will mean greater disruption to residents despite it making a “fair and reasonable offer” to the union.

“No worker will lose the sums Unite are claiming.

“Residents of Birmingham want and deserve a better waste collection service and the restructure that Unite is opposing is part of the much-needed transformation of the service.

“Our door is still open, and we would encourage Unite to come back to the table.

“We thank residents for their continued understanding and patience so far and will continue to provide up-to-date information about our plans during the industrial action.”

Craig Cooper, strategic director of city operations at Birmingham City Council, told BBC Radio West Midlands that 90 waste collection crews are still out collecting bins, out of a total of 200.

He said residents should still put their bins out and crews would get to them when they could.

He said: “We have been stopped getting out of depots by disruption which is why the police are there and I’m really grateful to West Midlands Police for the work they have done to allow our staff to go about their work normally as they are entitled to do, but our aim is to collect as much as we possibly can.

“Put your residual waste out in the wheelie bins, and it may not be collected on the day because we’re being prevented from getting out the depots, but when we can, we will get there and get it cleared. We are working round the clock to get there.

“Some residents have been taking them to the tip, we do have some mobile household locations that have been set up and are continuing to be set up.

Zoe Mayou, Unite regional officer, told the PA news agency the amount of police in attendance at the picket line at the Atlas Depot on Kings Road in Tyseley, Birmingham, was “overkill”.

She said: “The police here on the line today – they should be out doing other jobs. How much is it costing the council just to resolve a small issue like this?

“The police numbers are overkill. We have two other sites with the same police presence.

“I’d be saying, what’s the 999 response rate like if you have this many officers here?

“We’re doing a legitimate picket line and the amount of police here is just unbelievable, I just don’t understand why there are so many here.

“The police always usually attend to make sure everyone is safe, I want it to be safe, but it’s peaceful, we’re not causing any disruption.”

She urged the council to have “proper” conversations with the union about how the waste collection service could be improved.

She said: “Our doors are always open for conversations, but proper conversations and consultations about how the service looks and how we can input into that without that being imposed from the top down.

“Come to the table and talk to us.”