Birmingham bin row: Industrial action to be 'escalated'

Unite said it will announce its plans for further industrial action on Monday

Industrial action by Birmingham's bin workers will be "escalated", a union said.

About 300 Unite members have been working to rule since December 29, over a payment given to GMB members who did not strike in 2017.

It said it has not had a "satisfactory response" from Birmingham City Council and will announce how it plans to escalate action on Monday.

The council said it is disappointed its "reasonable offer" has been rejected.

Howard Beckett, from Unite, said: "This dispute was created by Birmingham City Council and they can bring it to an end by making a fair offer to our members.

"If they refuse to do so then regrettably Birmingham residents are set to face further disruption to their refuse service in the coming weeks."

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The council, and GMB, has said the payment was a settlement because it was not consulted during the talks that ended the 2017 strike.

A council spokesperson said: "To be absolutely clear, we have not blacklisted or discriminated against Unite members," it said.

Thousands of tonnes of waste were left on Birmingham's streets in 2017, during the strike

"We would urge Unite to continue talks as we want to resolve this matter, so citizens get the refuse collection service they rightly expect and deserve."

Last month, the authority approved a move to seek the injunction against the union if it refused a formal offer to resolve the dispute through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).