Birmingham councillor ’embarrassed by city being trashed’ as bin strikes continue

With the bins strike rumbling on into its second year and no end seemingly in sight, there were scenes of fury and frustration at a meeting of the city council on Tuesday.

That afternoon also saw striking bin workers and their supporters gather for a rally to call on the council to restart negotiations, with one union member saying they were “prepared to stay out as long as it takes”.

At its height last year, the industrial action left small mountains of rubbish in streets across the city and sparked tales of ‘cat-sized rats’ – attracting unwanted headlines from around the world.

Recycling and other services such as garden waste remain suspended due to the strike, which was initially triggered by a dispute between the Labour-run council and Unite the union.

Through a proposed amendment to a motion on fly-tipping, independent councillor Sam Forsyth recently called on the council to resume negotiations with Unite amid fears the strike was harming the city’s reputation.

The councillor, who quit the Labour Party last year, said at this week’s meeting that the strike was the subject of jokes at two pantomimes she attended over the festive period – one in Birmingham and another in London.

“It was embarrassing to hear the city I’ve grown up in and love being trashed like this,” she told the council chamber. “But that is the reality.

“We are being trashed throughout the country because we can’t pick up our own rubbish.

“Our reputation has gone down the drain.”

She continued: “So what do we have? Do we have a city that people are proud to live in, a city that gave us the industrial revolution, the CBSO, world-class ballet and Black Sabbath?

“This council needs to get back to the negotiating table.

“What we have now is the grotesque chaos of a Labour council that cannot negotiate with a trade union – remember your history.”

Coun Martin Brooks, also from the Harborne and Quinton Independents, seconded the motion amendment, arguing that the glowing praise from the city hosting the Commonwealth Games had been ‘wasted’.

“Just over four years ago, we had the kind of opportunity that comes up maybe once in a generation to showcase this city internationally,” he said. “We rose to that occasion, showing off our culture, heritage and values.

“Now that reputation is in tatters – this city has become an international laughing stock.”

The councillor, who also quit the Labour Party, added: “All the credibility that we accumulated over those years have been wasted and we’ve got untold misery for our residents.

“Every single day we see on social media images of our city untidy, unkempt and squalid.

“It’s going to take the new administration years to recover the reputation of the city.”

This particular amendment to the motion was not passed following a vote among the councillors.

Why has a resolution not been reached in the bins strike dispute?

The bins strike dispute was initially sparked by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role.

The past year or so has seen striking workers claim they face a pay cut of £8,000 – a figure the council has disputed.

The council has insisted a fair offer had been made before negotiations came to an end last summer, with the authority saying it had ‘reached the absolute limit of what we can offer’ amid equal pay fears.

Addressing the strike at a meeting on Tuesday, Birmingham council leader John Cotton said: “[Bringing this dispute to a close] has to be done on the basis of not reopening this council’s equal pay liabilities and delivering a modern waste service.

“Those points are non-negotiable – we are not going to repeat the mistakes of the past.

“We are open to dialogue to find a solution.

“However, those points have to be non-negotiable – it would not be in the best interests of the taxpayers of this city if we were to do anything else.”

On the challenges in finding a resolution, the council’s managing director Joanne Roney told a meeting this month that settling the dispute “cannot worsen the equal pay implications”.

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.”

When it comes to fly-tipping, the cabinet member for environment Coun Majid Mahmood said action was being taken, such as issuing fixed penalty notices; seizing vehicles linked to fly-tipping and deploying CCTV in targeted locations.