Birmingham bin workers back to frustrating lorries at depot in strike escalation
Striking bin workers are back to frustrating agency lorries in Birmingham as the number of police on the picket lines has been cut.
A group of Unite the Union members formed a human chain at Lifford Household recycling centre in Kings Norton, this morning (May 16th).
Striking refuse workers, slowing down contracted refuse collectors by walking in front of their lorries, was a regular sight at the start of Birmingham's bin strikes, but recently they've left the depots alone.
That was because the police had used powers from Section 14 of the Public Order Act to make sure that agency lorries could drive out unobstructed.
Those powers are no longer in place, so the striking bin workers returned to frustrating the council.
The bin lorries weren't able to leave the depot and instead just approached the bin workers' picket line before reversing back inside the depot.
The striking workers have said they would be happy to let the lorries out of the depot, but they aren't even trying to get out of the gates.
Birmingham City Council said that the reduction in police officers on the picket lines mean't that the gates of three of their depots were blocked.
On a post on X, they wrote: "Unfortunately, actions by pickets at our 3 depots have meant very few of our waste lorries have been deployed this morning. "This will affect the amount of collections we are able to make. Please leave your bins out, and we will collect them as soon as possible.
"This may be over the weekend. We apologise for the disruption."
Members of Unite have been on all-out strike for more than two months in a bitter dispute over pay and jobs.
The conciliation service Acas is involved in trying to achieve a breakthrough but despite a number of meetings, the dispute remains deadlocked.
Bin collections were also disrupted yesterday, on Thursday, May 15th, as striking workers also blocked depots.
The city council issued a statement warning of fresh delays to collections. It said: 'Actions by pickets at two of our depots have meant very few of our waste lorries have been deployed this morning.
'People have the right to strike but those that want to work should be allowed to do so. We also want to ensure that the situation is safe for everyone, which has to be a priority for us.
'Unfortunately, delays this morning will affect the amount of collections we are able to make.
'We will continue to look at all options to ensure we can get trucks out and keep the streets clean.'
A Unite spokesperson said: 'The council's claims are an attempt to blame workers on legal, safe and peaceful picket lines for the disruption to services it has caused through its huge and unnecessary pay cuts.'
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ITV News
2 days ago
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Birmingham bin workers back to frustrating lorries at depot in strike escalation
Striking bin workers are back to frustrating agency lorries in Birmingham as the number of police on the picket lines has been cut. A group of Unite the Union members formed a human chain at Lifford Household recycling centre in Kings Norton, this morning (May 16th). Striking refuse workers, slowing down contracted refuse collectors by walking in front of their lorries, was a regular sight at the start of Birmingham's bin strikes, but recently they've left the depots alone. That was because the police had used powers from Section 14 of the Public Order Act to make sure that agency lorries could drive out unobstructed. Those powers are no longer in place, so the striking bin workers returned to frustrating the council. The bin lorries weren't able to leave the depot and instead just approached the bin workers' picket line before reversing back inside the depot. The striking workers have said they would be happy to let the lorries out of the depot, but they aren't even trying to get out of the gates. Birmingham City Council said that the reduction in police officers on the picket lines mean't that the gates of three of their depots were blocked. On a post on X, they wrote: "Unfortunately, actions by pickets at our 3 depots have meant very few of our waste lorries have been deployed this morning. "This will affect the amount of collections we are able to make. Please leave your bins out, and we will collect them as soon as possible. "This may be over the weekend. We apologise for the disruption." Members of Unite have been on all-out strike for more than two months in a bitter dispute over pay and jobs. The conciliation service Acas is involved in trying to achieve a breakthrough but despite a number of meetings, the dispute remains deadlocked. Bin collections were also disrupted yesterday, on Thursday, May 15th, as striking workers also blocked depots. The city council issued a statement warning of fresh delays to collections. It said: 'Actions by pickets at two of our depots have meant very few of our waste lorries have been deployed this morning. 'People have the right to strike but those that want to work should be allowed to do so. We also want to ensure that the situation is safe for everyone, which has to be a priority for us. 'Unfortunately, delays this morning will affect the amount of collections we are able to make. 'We will continue to look at all options to ensure we can get trucks out and keep the streets clean.' A Unite spokesperson said: 'The council's claims are an attempt to blame workers on legal, safe and peaceful picket lines for the disruption to services it has caused through its huge and unnecessary pay cuts.'
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