Thousands of tonnes of uncollected household waste will start being removed today from Birmingham streets after the city council said it was deploying emergency powers to tackle the impacts of three weeks of bin worker strikes.
Birmingham City Council last night declared a major incident to combat the waste service industrial action.
It said it was deploying emergency bin collectors due to “concerns of risks to public health and damage to our environment.”
The authority said to date 17,000 tonnes of waste remains uncollected on streets and pavements round the second city – causing a foul stench, rats and damning national media headlines.
John Cotton, leader of Birmingham city 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.
“I want to thank residents for their continued patience under difficult circumstances and the community groups who have been working hard within their communities to help with clear-up.
“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.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the union representing the striking bin workers, said: “Birmingham council could easily resolve this dispute but instead it seems hellbent on imposing its plan of demotions and pay cuts at all costs. If that involves spending far more than it would cost to resolve the strike fairly, they don’t seem to care.
“We can only conclude that this massive pay cut for hundreds of refuse workers is only the start and this is really about stamping out any future opposition to its plans to unleash austerity 2.0 on Birmingham.
“I urge Birmingham council to rethink this disastrous strategy and to find a way forward that doesn’t involve workers and communities having to pay for politicians’ mistakes. Unite will never accept attacks on our members and we will continue to defend Birmingham’s refuse workforce to the hilt.”
