A dispute between Birmingham City Council and striking bin workers has stalled due to intervention from the Unite union’s national leadership team, leaving thousands of tonnes of rubbish uncollected on city streets.
A deal between striking bin workers and Birmingham City Council could have been reached were it not for the interventions of the Unite union’s national leadership team, according to sources. Thousands of tonnes of rubbish have been left uncollected on the city’s streets, sparking frustration among residents.
The Role of Local Union Members in Resolving the Dispute
Individuals with knowledge of a proposed deal say it was backed by refuse workers at two of Birmingham City Council’s three bin lorry depots. However, national Unite figures were involved at the third site where it was rejected. A longstanding Unite member from the West Midlands told the BBC that while commissioners at the council bore some of the responsibility for the dispute, the regional office of Unite was unhappy it had been bypassed.
Power Struggles within Unite
Sources say the handling of the dispute is being influenced by power struggles within Unite. The industrial action, which began in January and escalated to an all-out walkout in March, has seen hundreds of Birmingham’s refuse workers on strike. Temporary waste collection points have proved popular across the city, sometimes causing long queues of traffic.
Government Intervention and Police Tactics
After weeks of stalemate, on 31 March the Labour-run council declared a major incident, citing the accumulation of an estimated 17,000 tonnes of rubbish on city streets. A leaked letter from Unite‘s General Secretary ‘Sharon Graham’ to Deputy Prime Minister ‘Angela Rayner’ referred to local negotiations as having descended into ‘farce‘. The government was urged to get involved in the situation in Birmingham.
Shift in Policing Tactics and Talks
Within a day of a visit from local government minister Jim McMahon, there was a change in policing tactics. Striking workers told the BBC they had been threatened with arrest if they continued to delay vehicles. This appeared to coincide with a fresh impetus in talks between the two sides, which took place over the weekend and continued into Monday and Tuesday.
