End to Birmingham bin strike in touching distance, says union

The Unite union has agreed to attend mediation talks with conciliation service Acas next week to try to settle the ongoing bin strike in Birmingham.

A deal could now be “in touching distance”, the union said, but it accused the city council of “saying one thing in public and another in the negotiations”.

The all-out strike by Unite members over plans to downgrade some refuse workers, who could lose thousands of pounds a year each, started on 11 March.

Talks with the council broke up after 45 minutes on Wednesday, the union said, while a spokesperson for the local authority stated negotiations were ongoing and “positive”.

After accusing the council of saying different things in public and talks, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said this “flip flopping needs to be sorted prior to the Acas negotiations next week”.

The dispute initially centred on the council’s decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles however Unite has increasingly also urged the council to guarantee the long-term pay for bin lorry drivers.

While union bosses said a resolution could be in sight on the WRCO role row, they said an agreement seemed further off around drivers’ pay.

Unite accused the authority of failing “to confirm whether it intends to cut the pay of hundreds of bin drivers by up to £8,000” and Ms Graham said “threats of savage pay cuts” had to stop.

“Unite has put forward workable proposals,” she said. “The ball is now in the council’s court.”

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said on Wednesday there had been an agreement to hold further discussions at the end of next week “under the auspices of Acas”.

The talks have been scheduled for 1 and 2 May.

The strike, now in its seventh week, led to a major incident being declared last month amid concerns for public health and the environment.

Waste has been piling up in the city since hundreds of bin workers started all-out strike action as a result the dispute over pay and jobs.

On Tuesday, Jim McMahon, housing, communities and local government minister, said at least 26,000 tonnes of rubbish had been removed from Birmingham’s streets and “regular bin collections have resumed” amid the disruption.

However recycling and garden waste collections, which were suspended at the beginning of the year, remain affected.

Members of Unite began staging one-day walkouts in January after being told some workers would be downgraded and have their pay cut.

The action escalated on 11 March, when more than 300 workers began an all-out strike, but several hundred continued working.

Wagons were stopped from carrying out their rounds and only about 10% of Birmingham’s regular daily bin collections were being completed.