Bin strike barons behind Birmingham's long-running union action accuse Keir Starmer's government of 'sabotaging' talks

Daily Mail​

21-05-2025

Union bosses at the heart of Birmingham 's festering bin strike have accused Government-appointed commissioners of 'sabotaging' peace talks and claim Keir Starmer 's Labour-led Government is complicit in blocking a deal.
The all-out strike by members of Unite has dragged on for more than two months, leaving piles of rubbish rotting in the streets of Britain's second largest city and prompting fury from long-suffering residents.
Despite conciliation service Acas stepping in earlier this month, the stand-off remains deadlocked and now the union is pointing the finger squarely at Whitehall officials parachuted in after the council's effective bankruptcy last year.
Unite said the talks set out a clear timeline for a discussed offer to be tabled by the council, but it claimed no offer has been made.
It said: 'What has become increasingly clear is that the offer is now being blocked by the Government commissions and the leader of the council, none of whom have ever been in the negotiating room.
'At the Acas talks, the council side was headed up for the first time by Birmingham council managing director Joanne Roney. She assured the meeting that she was the decision maker and at the table to negotiate. Discussions then took place in good faith.
'This latest debacle comes after it was confirmed that the 'fair and reasonable offer' that the Prime Minister, deputy prime minister and the leader of the council had been briefing to the press, urging Unite to accept, did not exist.'
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab. The all-out strike by members of Unite has dragged on for more than two months, leaving piles of rubbish rotting in the streets of Britain's second largest city
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham (pictured at a protest in London last year) said: 'Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it'
Unite said it had been asking for a copy of the offer since the start of the Acas talks, but was still waiting.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it.
'The offer briefed to the press for all affected workers simply never existed and the new ballpark offer discussed at Acas has now been blocked by Government commissioners. Instead of trying to injunct picket lines and attack workers, the council leader should stop playing games, get in the room and solve this dispute.
'Birmingham city council's bin workers, residents and the public at large have all been lied to.
'The bottom line is that our members can't afford to have savage pay cuts of up to £8,000 with no mitigation. Until that issue is addressed the strikes will continue.
'If Labour is truly the party for workers, how can this Government be aiding and abetting these cuts and once again allowing workers and communities to pay the price?'
Unite said in a statement: 'Talks aimed at resolving the Birmingham bin strike have been sabotaged by government commissioners.'
Rotting rubbish is still piling up in Birmingham despite council claims that collections are back to normal.
Pictures show huge mounds of bin bags spilling out over pavements in England's second city.
Birmingham City Council says it has cleared 100 per cent of the large piles of waste in hot-spot areas and 85 per cent of rubbish from the rest of the city.
But grim images show overflowing bins, split rubbish bags and rotting food strewn across residential streets.
Photographs taken in Bordesley Green last week show old boxes and waste dumped on the pavements and roads.
Another shot shows a red wheelie bin crammed with trash next to bulging bin bags piled up on the path.
Graham Marlow, 45, who lives in the area, said: 'How the council can keep a straight face and say they have everything under control is mad.
'They only need to come down from their ivory towers and have a look at the streets to know the city is still waist deep in rubbish.
'My family are sick of it. I'm sick of it. I can't wait to leave this city. It's little wonder people now call Birmingham Scummy Brum.'
More pictures show fly-tipping is still plaguing the city, with old beds, mattresses, shop mannequins and even an industrial-sized freezer being dumped on the streets.
Other images show how residents have struggled to even park their cars as the mountains of rubbish swamps residential areas.
The bin strike has attracted worldwide attention with shocking pictures of giant 'cat-sized' rats chasing council workers.
Disabled people reliant on wheelchairs have also been trapped in their homes by piles of rubbish dumped on pavements and in alleyways.
Opposition politicians have accused the Labour-led council of failing to end the dispute.
Birmingham's Conservative leader councillor Robert Alden said: 'What we've seen sadly over the last two weeks, since national support from the army has been withdrawn, [is that] bin lorries have not been going out again.
'Indeed by the end of the week, barely any bin lorries were going out and that's leading to more rubbish starting to build up on the streets.'