Take a walk through Birmingham’s central business district and you’d be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.
Glass-fronted financial services and legal firm offices, fancy tailors, coffee shops, steak houses, high-end hotels.
And the streets? Spotless – as evidenced by the accompanying pics taken by WM News on Friday.
It’s a world away from the grotty reality unfolding nearby.
For every day the Birmingham bin workers’ strike continues, mounds of uncollected rubbish grow ever-larger on streets across the second city – along with the stink, the rats and the understandable fury of residents.
The reputational optics are as grim as the smell. This is embarrassing for Birmingham. And, sadly, it’s showing no signs of being resolved any time soon.
The city council said at the end of last week that its negotiations with Unite union reps remained at an impasse.
“We confirm that, regrettably, we have informed Unite representatives that next week we will formally notify and enter a period of collective consultation regarding compulsory redundancies for those who have declined all offers on the table,” said the council.
Unite’s national lead officer, Onay Kasab, said: “There is no positive spin Unite can put on today’s negotiations. 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.”
Talks resume on Monday. Needless to say, the sooner this tawdry saga comes to an end, the better.
