Union slams Birmingham council over ‘misleading’ comments on bin strike negotiations

Last week marked one year since the disruptive industrial action in the city began, with the dispute between Unite and the council initially being triggered by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role.

The past year saw striking workers claiming they faced a pay cut of £8,000 – a figure which the council has disputed.

The two parties have failed to reach a resolution despite talks taking place, with the Labour-run local authority insisting that a fair offer had been made.

Negotiations officially came to an end last summer as the council said it had ‘reached the absolute limit of what we can offer’ amid equal pay fears.

During a finance meeting last Tuesday, the one year anniversary of the strike, the council’s managing director Joanne Roney said it was ‘incredibly difficult to find a way through the various hurdles’ present within the talks.

“Two offers have been made to try and settle this dispute,” she told councillors.

“And both of those offers were rejected by Unite.

“That is why we have not been able to resolve the dispute, because the offers were rejected.”

But in a furious response issued this week, Unite slammed those comments as “misleading” and has written to the finance scrutiny committee chair councillor Albert Bore.

The union claims that a “ballpark” deal had been agreed last year after hours of discussions.

But it added this figure could not get past the government-appointed commissioners, who were sent in to oversee the council’s financial recovery.

Unite claims this new offer was much lower compared to the “ballpark” figure and therefore couldn’t accept it.

The council would later confirm that the bins strike negotiations had ended shortly afterwards.

Regarding the bins strike talks, Joanne Roney said during the meeting that ‘doors remain open’ if the union wanted to make a proposal back.

But striking refuse collector and Unite member Matthew Reid responded to that remark by saying: “Well the [council’s] doors are obviously not open.

“They say their doors are open for us to go back and get that offer they’ve offered us before, which we’ve already rejected.”

Unite also hit out at comments made by lead commissioner Tony McArdle OBE, who said at the meeting: “The expectations that have been set aside for huge sums of money which the council does not have and cannot afford.

“[They] would not represent best value to be made in line with the final demands that were made by the union in the dispute as it was finished at Acas last year.”

These comments have been condemned by Unite, who argued the bin workers have not asked for “huge sums of money” and pointed to the millions of pounds being “wasted” in dealing with the impacts of the strike.

Reacting to the remarks made during the meeting, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members taking industrial action and the general public deserve better than this.

“Joanne Roney herself ended negotiations on the dispute after backtracking on the ballpark deal she made at Acas and she has refused to come back to the table ever since.

“As for the government commissioners who have constantly […] overstepped their remit when it comes to this dispute – they ought to be sent packing.”

In the letter, Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab wrote: “I want to ask if you [Coun Bore] will investigate these matters as chair of the scrutiny committee.

“I would be happy to attend a meeting or special inquiry session of the committee to give the facts on Unite’s position and answer questions from councillors.

“I would also be glad to invite our King’s Council (KC) to attend and address the issues raised around legal issues, including equal pay liabilities and Unite members’ legal claims against the council.

“I hope this could be a way forward to increase transparency on all sides and help get us moving back to a resolution to this dispute.”

‘Incredibly difficult to find a way through’

On the challenges in finding a resolution, Joanne Roney told the meeting that settling the dispute “cannot worsen the equal pay implications” for Birmingham City Council.

She went on to say that there were also financial ‘best-value’ considerations that will be looked at by government-appointed commissioners.

“It is incredibly difficult to find a way through these various hurdles,” she said.

“Nobody is blaming the workers for this situation – this is a failure of Birmingham City Council for many years to not address its equal pay issues.”

She added there had to be a “reasonable amount of recognition for both parties”, particularly with the council’s equal pay and financial position.

“They are just parameters within which I have to operate,” she said. “[The council and Unite] are miles apart.”

The council’s leadership has repeatedly faced calls to resume bins strike negotiations since last summer, with council leader John Cotton arguing last month that Unite had rejected a “succession of fair offers” that had been put on the table.

“[Unite] has asked us for stuff that frankly this council will not and cannot concede because it would reopen all of the challenges that we have faced over equal pay,” he said. “Challenges that we’re bringing to a close.”

The commissioners recently praised the progress made in tackling equal pay issues and said of the bins strike dispute: “With no negotiations taking place, and no credible basis for any being evident, the council has moved to resolve the matter by offering alternative arrangements to the workforce.

“The majority have accepted one or other of these alternatives, but compulsory redundancy has had to be pursued in three cases.

“Maintaining this direction has required commendable fortitude in the face of frequent criticism and regular protest.”

They added: “We have been supportive of this approach and it remains in our view the only viable option open to the council.”