Latest news with #binworkers
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
Birmingham bin misery could go on until CHRISTMAS as workers vote to continue strikes
Birmingham bin workers have voted to continue industrial action in a dispute over pay and jobs. Strikes could last until December with Unite announcing the continued industrial action. 4 4 A massive 97% of workers voted in favour of continued strike action. Nearly 400 bin workers from Birmingham, who are facing pay cuts, voted to continue the strikes. Strikes initially began in January after workers were told they could face pay cuts of up to £8,000. Refuse workers said the cuts would leave them struggling to pay their bills. The strikes have caused rubbish to pile up on the city's streets with huge rubbish piles now appearing across Birmingham. Residents have reported a growing vermin problem as rats and bugs swarm the filthy streets. The council brought in temporary workers to cover for the striking bin men. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'After smearing these workers in public since January and telling them to accept a fair and reasonable offer that never existed, the council finally put a proposal in writing last week. 'True to form, the proposal came weeks late and was not in line with the ballpark offer discussed during Acas talks in May. "It had been watered down by the government commissioners and the leader of the council despite them never having been in the negotiations. 'It beggars belief that a Labour government and Labour council is treating these workers so disgracefully. "It is hardly surprising that so many working people are asking whose side Labour is on. 'The decision makers at Birmingham council need to get in the room and put forward an acceptable offer. "Unite will not allow these workers to be financially ruined – the strikes will continue for as long as it takes. Unite calls on the decision makers to let common sense prevail in upcoming negotiations.' 4 4
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Council granted interim injunction over pickets in strike by bin workers
The council involved in the long-running strike by bin workers has been granted an interim injunction it says will ensure that picketing and protests at its three depots is in accordance with legal provisions. Birmingham City Council said the injunction, which is in place until Thursday when a further hearing will take place, sets out expected behaviour from pickets and aims to prevent the obstruction of vehicles leaving the depots. Members of Unite have been on all-out strike since March 11 in a row over pay and jobs, leading to bags of refuse piling up across the city. The council said: 'The council must now work to resume weekly collections and reduce the recent build-up of waste experienced in the city. 'Our priority is to deliver a reliable waste service to the people of Birmingham. 'We have seen an increase in disruption at our depots, with workers and vehicles being prevented from doing their jobs. This has in turn led to a backlog of approximately 12,800 tonnes of waste on the streets. 'The council has been negotiating with Unite since the start of this strike around the behaviours we have seen at our depots, and whilst everyone has a right to protest, the council has a public health duty to uphold and clearing waste is central to this. 'We believe that these actions are in breach of the law. As a result, the council issued Unite's lawyers with a letter before action at the start of the week. We were subsequently given assurances in writing that there would be a change at the depots. 'This has not happened and they have breached those reassurances this morning by again not allowing our trucks to leave. 'Therefore, the council has taken the decision to proceed with an application to the High Court for a legal injunction to restrict the unlawful behaviour. This is not something we wanted to do and have given Unite many opportunities to co-operate with us and avoid this course of action. 'The health and safety of the people of Birmingham is vitally important and the council has been forced to take this action to prevent waste accumulating across our city, impacting deprived communities the most.' Unite maintains picketing has been lawful.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
First workers were disappointed in Labour – now they're angry. To understand why, visit Birmingham
Six months ago, it was a stirring, a mood felt in many workers' meetings, on picket lines and doorsteps. What started as disappointment in Labour is now giving way to anger for many British workers and their communities. 'Aren't Labour supposed to be for workers?' is a line I hear daily now. Most recently, this sentiment has been felt in Birmingham, where bin workers for the Labour-run city council have been on indefinite strike since 11 March. These workers woke up one morning to be told they would lose up to a quarter of their pay – what Unite believes to be up to £8,000. This is 'fire-and-rehire' by any other name. Bin lorry drivers are now being told they are next in line to lose the same amount in pay. What makes this scandal all the more egregious is that it is being perpetrated by a Labour council – enthusiastically backed by a Labour government. One bin worker said this government 'might be Labour in name, but it isn't Labour in nature'. That specific is mirrored in much more general conceptions. Labour voters can't believe that this government would, with almost its first act, cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, regardless of the U-turn it has now made. Then it attacked those on welfare benefits. Why would a Labour administration target some of the country's most vulnerable people instead of making the rich pay more, through a real wealth tax? Unite research shows that the assets of the richest 50 families in the UK are worth £500bn. That's more than the wealth of a third of Britain. A 1% tax on the richest 1% would raise £25bn. Labour in name but not in nature is right. And nothing is more symbolic of Labour's disconnection from its core mission than the catastrophe of the Birmingham bin strike. Angela Rayner, Labour MPs, and the leader of Birmingham city council, John Cotton, who incidentally has not attended one single negotiation on the bin strike, have spent weeks, if not months, demanding that our members should simply accept 'the fair and reasonable offer on the table'. The problem is there isn't one. I've seen this charade play out week after week since the strike began: Unite decision-makers are in the room with a group of council employees who clearly do not have the power to make any decisions. Hence, there have been no real negotiations and certainly no settlement of the dispute. When Acas conciliation was suggested, I said I would be there in person and that I expected the leader of the council to do the same. After all, he had said in public just days before that 'nobody needs to lose any pay' – surely we should have been in touching distance of a deal? But Cotton, once again, did not turn up to the talks, sending Joanne Roney, the managing director of the city council instead, who introduced herself as a decision-maker. I asked for a copy of the 'fair and reasonable offer', but yet again, none was produced. Both Rayner and Cotton have cited lump sums in the thousands being put on the table, together with moves that would result in no loss of pay. None of this was seen at Acas. Nonetheless, the talks began, and a 'ballpark' deal was discussed, one that could finally be taken back to workers to ballot. That was on the 6 May. Roney said she would send a written draft by 8 May, but at the time of writing, we have yet to receive the offer. A simple written offer dictating terms. So why the delay? The government's own commissioners – who have been in place since just after the council effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 – are now apparently blocking the deal, despite Rayner previously claiming central government has 'no part in the decision-making of the dispute'. Roney is reportedly being prevented from putting in writing what we discussed at conciliation unless they agree to it. Of course, this is what Unite has been saying all along: Birmingham city council's decision-makers are simply not in the room. In 35 years of negotiating huge disputes, I have never seen such a shambles. Our members can see through Labour's spin. How can a Labour council be doing this to their own workers? What happened to the 'change' promised by Starmer? Make no mistake, these workers have the full backing of Unite. Losing up to a quarter of their pay means many won't be able to pay mortgages or rent, or cover other basic living costs. This cannot be allowed to happen. How can a Labour council and a Labour government preside over these pay cuts and say with a straight face that they are the party of workers? The recent local election results are a warning to Labour that the anger is becoming more widespread. The party needs to change course; driving 'further and faster' while you are heading for a cliff doesn't usually end well. Sharon Graham is the general secretary of Unite
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Birmingham bin strike: Unite blames council for lack of progress
The union representing Birmingham's striking bin workers has broken its near-three-week silence on ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the action to blame the city council for the lack of a deal.A Unite spokesperson also blamed government-appointed commissioners, who have been overseeing the council's operations since its effective bankruptcy, for the apparent lack of all-out strike over plans to downgrade some roles, which the union says could cost workers £8,000 a year, began on 11 March, following weeks of intermittent City Council said it was committed to ending the dispute while the government urged Unite to suspend its strike action. Talks between the council and Unite have been taking place with conciliation service Acas since the start of May, after previous negotiations to resolve the strike ended without a union's latest statement accuses the council of failing to meet a promised deadline to lay out an offer - and questions the very existence of such an offer."Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year," said Unite's General Secretary, Sharon Graham."From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it."Ms Graham called on council leader John Cotton to "stop playing games, get in the room and solve this dispute"."The bottom line is that our members can't afford to have savage pay cuts of up to £8,000 with no mitigation," she added."Until that issue is addressed the strikes will continue." A spokesperson for the council said the authority was committed to seeking a negotiated settlement to end the said: "Our focus has been to find a solution to this that does not put the council in a position that compromises us financially or legally. This is why we are committed to making a revised offer."The council defended the commissioners and said they were "fully supportive" of finding a solution to the strike.A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson called on Unite to suspend strike action and urged both parties to "reach agreement on a fair and reasonable offer". Industrial action has been ongoing since January, when bin workers began a series of escalated into an all-out strike, now in its eleventh one point, there were estimated to be 21,000 tonnes of rubbish on Birmingham's streets and there have been queues of up to a mile at mobile collection city council has previously defended its job evaluation process as "fair and transparent" and said it was "working hard" to reach a was itself previously accused of scuppering a potential deal, a claim which it denied. Meanwhile, protesters supporting the striking bin workers disrupted a ceremony to mark the election of Birmingham's new Lord Zafar Iqbal took up the role on Tuesday but the event saw shouts from the public gallery including one woman angrily yelling: "Could you take an £8,000 pay cut?"The outgoing Lord Mayor, Ken Wood, shouted back at them to sit down before asking for the gallery to be cleared. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Striking Birmingham bin workers blow up giant inflatable rat at 'mega picket' blocking depot in city blighted by rodents and mountains of rubbish as industrial action rumbles on
Scores of supporters joined striking bin workers on a 'mega picket' in Birmingham today - shutting down a depot in the city. The group of around 200 let off flares and blew up a giant inflatable rat - a nod to the giant rats which are said to have invaded the country's second city as rubbish piles high. Refuse workers belonging to the Unite union have been striking since March 11 over the city council's proposed changes to roles and resulting pay cuts. On Friday, members of other unions travelled from across the country to show their support for the city's striking bin workers. Union members, who travelled on coaches from as far as Bristol and Leeds, arrived at the Lifford Lane depot in Kings Norton to stand in solidarity. They shut down the depot and recycling centre, one of the three main Birmingham City Council depots, leading to delays in collections. The 'mega picket' was organised by Strike Map, a group of trade union activists who created a digital map to show where industrial action is taking place. The group of around 200 let off flares and blew up a giant inflatable rat at the rally - a nod to the giant rats which are said to have invaded the country's second city as rubbish piles high. Henry Fowler, from the group, said it was a 'fantastic turnout' with workers from a number of unions, including the train drivers' union Aslef and the Fire Brigades Union, turning up. Protestors gathered from 6am, chanting and releasing flares, to show their backing for the all-out bin strike, now entering its eighth week. Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a message of solidarity. Asked if they're anticipating the bins strike continuing into summer, Unite regional officer Zoe Mayou said: 'If that's what we need to do unfortunately - that's unfortunate for our members and residents. 'It's down to the council to come with a proper offer and be transparent.' Birmingham's striking bin workers also received backing from the National Education Union (NEU). NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede told protestors the strike by members of Unite was a fight against 'a race to the bottom' on working people's wages. Mr Kebede, who represents around half a million teachers and support staff, told the picket line: 'We bring our solidarity to this picket because the Birmingham bin strike is a strike of national importance. 'If a Labour council - a Labour council - can get away with cutting the wages of these workers, then a Labour government can get away with attacks on the rest of us.' Claiming that the Labour Government was 'lining up attacks' on education and would be the first Labour government since the 1970s to do so, Mr Kebede said: 'We are standing here with the bin men and bin workers today because it could be us tomorrow. 'This solidarity... is showing what we can do when we unite across our sectors and across our industries. 'Without the people here, not a single cog would turn. It wasn't the councillors who were sat in city hall who were making the difference during the pandemic.' To loud applause from protestors, Mr Kebede went on: 'It was the refuse workers keeping the streets clean. It was the teachers who kept education going, it was the doctors and the nurses. 'So let's stand together as working people and say that we absolutely refuse to endure a race to the bottom. 'Let's push back against this austerity government and ensure that our society can flourish.' Train drivers' union Aslef's general secretary, Mick Whelan, thanked trade unionists in the crowd for their their support during previous rail disputes and said he was proud to be with them. Mr Whelan said: 'It's to our shame that we have to stand here today in a Labour-controlled authority talking about people's wages being changed without agreement.' Turning the effects of 14 years of austerity back on workers could not be right, Mr Whelan said, adding: 'I can't articulate this dispute as well as the people involved in it - because it's their futures, it's their livings, it's their families. 'But we do know from what we have seen in the past, if we don't stand together, they will defeat us. If we don't behave as a collective, they will hurt us. 'If we don't send the messages we need to see, they believe they can turn us over. 'We will be with you today, we will come back tomorrow, we will come back another day until you win.' Kate Taylor, of the Birmingham branch of the NEU and also a national executive member of the union, told the crowd: 'This bin strike is for all of us - it's for all trade unionists. That is why so may of us are here today showing solidarity and fighting with you.' Representatives of the Fire Brigades Union and other groups also addressed the crowd, including Artin Giles of the Jeremy Corbyn-founded Peace and Justice Project. Offering both Mr Corbyn's and the project's full solidarity, Mr Giles said: 'I think we really are at a moment where people are realising that no matter if it's a red rosette or a blue rosette, the rich get richer whilst the working class gets cuts to services that we all rely on. 'And that's the case whether we talk about schools, health clinics or refuse collection.' Unite organiser Pete Randall told the picket that he believed 'victory' in the dispute was not too far away. 'It's been an absolute honour to stand here with our members,' he said. 'I remember the very first day rocking up at the top of Lifford Lane/Ebury Road. 'I have got to know the members. I can see it in their eyes. I can see how it feels for them. And that's what it's all about - understanding from a striker's perspective. 'I praise every single worker that is out on the picket lines. This is what a union looks like.' Speaking from the picket line, Derek Roberts, a bin lorry driver who has worked for the service for more than 30 years, said he was ' humbled and very grateful' to see the amount of people who had decided to join forces with his fellow Unite members. He told the BBC: 'Knowing they've had to get up first thing in the morning and travel to support us has been fantastic.' The council said it would try to collect bins missed as a result of the action over the weekend. Resident Ste Gill expressed his anger online. He said: 'Another week of us not getting our bins empty. Another week of fighting off the rats. Also another week of me trying to a get a slot at Lifford Lane. 'To take my rubbish which I already pay for with the rising council tax. Getting ridiculous now. My patience is wearing thin.' Members of the union have been on all-out strike for weeks over plans to cut the role of Waste Recycling and Collection Officers - leading to rubbish piling up on the streets. Hopes of an agreement were dealt a blow when last month, around 200 bin wagon drivers were told their jobs were being downgraded as part of an equal pay-related review and evaluation exercise by Birmingham City Council. Unite said that under the council's plans, the pay rate of drivers will reduce from £40,000 to £32,000, a pay cut of £8,000. The council - which effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 - has been blamed for mishandling an equal pay dispute. It has so far paid out almost £1.1 billion after losing a landmark case in 2012 launched after it gave bonuses to refuse collectors and street cleaners but not to cleaners and caterers - roles typically held by women. It still has to find more money to settle further claims but insists its debt is 'unrelated to the need to modernise the waste service and to eliminate any future equal pay risk'.
