Union attacks 'outrageous' treatment of bin workers

Bin workers in Birmingham started an all-out strike in March

A union has described the treatment of Birmingham bin workers as "outrageous" and called on the government to intervene in the long-running strike.

The Labour-affiliated Fire Brigades Union (FBU) issued the plea to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner, urging them to deliver a "decent settlement".

Members of Unite began a series of walkouts in January before starting an all-out strike in March, which led to bags of rubbish piling up across the city's streets.

The government said it was committed to a "sustainable resolution" and had worked with the council to tackle the backlog of uncollected waste.

FBU general secretary Steve Wright said ministers must use their influence to insist Birmingham City Council halt its planned changes to the city's waste collection services, which Unite said would lead to some workers losing up to £8,000 a year.

"The treatment of the bin workers has been outrageous," he said.

"It's a disgrace that a Labour-led council forced these dedicated public servants to go on strike by attempting to cut their pay by thousands of pounds."

He said unions affiliated to Labour, like the FBU, would not tolerate a "betrayal" of the striking bin workers.

Bins have overflowed over the past six months (image taken 24 June)

Mr Wright likened the current Labour government's approach to Tony Blair's cabinet in the 1990s, highlighting what he said was the latter's failure to intervene in a dispute involving Liverpool dockers, as well as strikes by Hillingdon hospital staff and Magnet kitchen workers.

The Birmingham dispute initially centred on the council's decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer roles, which it said was not industry-standard, adding that failing to do so would open it up to further equal pay claims.

More recently, it has also focused on a pay deal for bin lorry drivers.

The BBC spoke to two striking bin workers at Tyseley depot on Monday, both of whom are driver team leaders and claim they are facing pay cuts of £8,000.

Derek Roberts said: "I feel I've been left with no other choice. I'm really disappointed that I was told at the beginning of this dispute that there was no threat to my pay, and now all of a sudden, three to four months into an independent evaluation process, I'm now told I'm potentially going to lose £8,000."

Matthew Reid, who works at the Lifford Lane depot and is a Unite union rep, told the BBC the council would take responsibilities away from driver team leaders and create a new role of driver.

This would constitute a grade three role instead of a grade four role, which Mr Reid claimed would cause a pay decrease of £8,000 to £10,000.

"I personally would lose £8,000 a year," he said.

"You've got to understand, we're not asking for more money; we're asking to stay on the same money we're on now.

"The council cannot be allowed to be in a situation of firing and rehiring staff just to save on the wage bill; otherwise every 15 years we're going to be here."

Striking bin worker Derek Roberts says, "I feel I've been left with no other choice"

Both Mr Reid and Mr Roberts agreed that the service needed to be modernised and improved but said reducing workers' wages was not the way to do it.

Mr Reid said: "We all know efficiencies need to be made, and the service has failed for a long time because of mismanagement.

"The efficiencies get made by increasing range sizes and things like that – getting more for less - not by taking pay off people."

As the city passed the six-month milestone for the bin strike, Mr Roberts said: "Morale's quite low at the moment; everyone's trying to stay strong and together, but it is very difficult at the moment.

"People are struggling, there's no doubt about it. The union has tried to help us out with strike pay, but for a lot of people it doesn't cover their normal monthly bills."

Mr Reid said that striking workers were down hundreds of pounds a month, even with strike pay from Unite.

"It's put a massive strain on our family. Kids, money – money's tight, credit cards are maxed out, the mortgage still needs to be paid," he said.

"I've potentially got the chance of being made redundant or to accept a fire and rehire situation where I lose a quarter of my wages, and I've got to explain to my bank manager and mortgage provider why I can't afford the mortgage payment."

Matthew Reid says the news that driver's roles could be impacted has lowered morale

Mr Reid said there was "no reason" for the strike to have gone on for six months in regard to delays around the negotiation process – before the council walked away from talks - which he claimed was due to the council's negotiating team also negotiating with the government-appointed commissioners of the council.

Max Caller, who was appointed by the previous Conservative government to oversee the council's financial recovery as the lead commissioner, had previously told the BBC that he was not involved in negotiations to end the strike.

However, Mr Reid told the BBC that WhatsApp messages sent from Joanne Roney, the council's managing director, to Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham, that any deal she had to put forward had to have the final say from the commissioners.

When contacted by the BBC regarding this claim, a spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: "It is only to be expected that commissioners have a role in agreeing to any settlement. It is a total red herring to continue to focus on who was or wasn't in the room and what powers they have.

"Not one single person within the council has absolute power and can, on their own, make a decision as significant as this."

The spokesperson added: "As Sharon would have to agree to any final decision with her Unite members, Joanne would need to agree to any final decision with the leader, cabinet and commissioners.

"This is to ensure that the correct process is followed and what is agreed is reasonable and lawful."

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said it had been "working intensively" with the council to clean up the streets "in the interests of Birmingham residents and public health".

They added: "The government remains committed to supporting Birmingham's long-term transformation for the benefit of local residents and to a sustainable resolution of the equal pay issues which have been left unresolved for far too long."

Unite recently suspended Rayner's membership of the union and added it was re-examining its relationship with Labour.

Despite not contributing to last year's election campaign, the union remains Labour's largest single donor.

Angela Rayner previously urged Unite to accept the offer from Birmingham City Council

The city council has insisted the changes it is trying to implement would improve the waste and recycling service for residents, with the city's recycling rates historically among the worst in the country.

It added that affected workers had been offered other jobs, voluntary redundancy or pay protection for six months.

Earlier this month, the BBC was informed talks to resolve the dispute had broken down completely and some bin lorry drivers were at risk of compulsory redundancy.

The union had previously suggested Grade 4 drivers could see their pay drop from £40,000 to £32,000 under council plans.

Conciliation service Acas had been mediating in the negotiations since May, but the local authority walked away from those.

At the time, council leader John Cotton said it had "reached the absolute limit" of what it could offer in talks with the union.

Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham claimed the council had resorted to a "fire and rehire" strategy, which she said would not work.