2 days ago
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Bin strikes could spread to other council areas across the country as cash-strapped local authorities make further cuts, a union leader has warned as the dispute between refuse workers and the city council in Birmingham continues.
There have been warnings of a public health emergency in Birmingham as bin bags have piled up in the streets and there has been an influx of rats, more than a month after refuse collectors launched an all-out indefinite strike.
The general secretary of Unite, which is representing the striking bin workers, said there could be more strikes in other parts of the country as workers pushed back against pay cuts and job losses.
“If other councils decide to make low-paid workers pay for bad decisions that they did not make, workers paying the price yet again, then absolutely, of course, we all have to take action in those other areas,” Sharon Graham told LBC.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Onay Kasab, the union’s national lead officer, added: “If other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading. That’s why different political choices need to be made.”
The dispute in Birmingham, where the council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023, has been triggered by the council’s decision to cut a role from its bin lorry fleets, which it claims it needs to do to save money and prevent any future equal pay liability.
There have been similar disputes in response to council cutbacks in other parts of the country.
In Peterborough, the GMB union has been in dispute with the council over pay for workers in recycling and waste collection, street cleaning and parks maintenance, claiming they would be paid “just pennies over the national living wage”.
A union spokesperson said members were “considering a revised pay offer” but that strikes were “on the table” in the dispute.
In March, hundreds of workers at Aberdeen city council voted to back strike action to oppose a fire-and-rehire policy, as part of a dispute over a pay freeze and the implementation of a shorter working week.
GMB said 88% of its members in non-education roles and 71% of janitorial staff in the city’s schools backed the move.
In Sheffield, some bin workers have been on strike since last August in a dispute with their employer, Veolia, for their union to be recognised.
Earlier this year, there was uproar in Devon, where the county council tried to change working conditions for more than 800 staff through fire-and-rehire. After a protest from the GMB Union, new terms and conditions were agreed by both sides.
More than 100 refuse workers in Brighton voted in favour of industrial action over changes to normal working practices last year. This followed a 14-day strike in 2021, in which refuse collectors in the city successfully fought for a pay rise for low-paid workers.
Last year, Unite held industrial action ballots at 23 councils and two organisations run by councils after members rejected the local government pay offer, and although the pay offer was later agreed, the union said it would carry out localised walkouts in areas where it had obtained a mandate to strike.
Across the country councils are facing tough financial pressures. A recent survey of town hall leaders found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of councils were planning to reduce spending on services from April.
As the strike in Birmingham drags on and concerns grow over similar action elsewhere, there are increasing calls for ministers to intervene.
Graham criticised the government for taking “a huge amount of time to get involved in the dispute” between the union and Birmingham city council.
Sarah Jones, the government’s business and trade minister, urged Unite to accept the deal. “Our message loud and clear is Unite need to call off the strike, accept the deal, and let’s get back to normal, which is what people expect and what people deserve,” she told BBC Breakfast.
On Monday, Unite said its members in Birmingham voted overwhelmingly against what it described as a “totally inadequate” offer from the council. Further talks are planned for Wednesday.
