Bin strike grinds on as Labour is humiliated after union rejects Rayners plea to end Birmingham crisis
Labour was humiliated by its top union backer on Monday as bin workers voted to prolong crippling strikes.
Labour was humiliated by its top union backer on Monday as bin workers voted to prolong crippling strikes.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had pleaded with Unite to accept a significantly improved offer to end the month-long crisis, which has seen rats running through mountains of bin bags.
But Unite members in Birmingham voted overwhelmingly against the councils totally inadequate proposal – meaning strikes which have left 21,000 tons of rubbish piling up on the streets of Englands second city will grind on.
The rejection brought pressure on ministers to get tough on their paymasters, with accusations that Labours inaction was taking Britain back to the 1970s.
Conservative West Midlands MP Wendy Morton said the rats – dubbed Squeaky Blinders after the TV drama set in the city – would be dancing in the streets.
Ms Morton said: This really shows yet again that Labour-led Birmingham Council and this Labour Government are failing residents and our region.
They need to get a grip, stop blaming others, and face the unions – their paymasters.
Tory local government spokesman Kevin Hollinrake added: Yet again, Labour proves utterly incapable of standing up for Birminghams residents against their union paymasters.
Labour was humiliated by its top union backer on Monday as bin workers voted to prolong crippling strikes in Birmingham (Pictured: Uncollected rubbish fills the streets in Balsall Heath)
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham (pictured) took aim at Labour, saying they had peddlied lies and attacked workers reputations
While rat-infested rubbish piles sky-high and communities suffer, Labour dithers, refusing to break the strikes.
Its pretty clear why they wont take Unite on when it has funnelled £7.6 million to Labour since Keir Starmer took charge, including £10,000 straight to Angela Rayners election campaign.
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick added: Labour are taking us back to the 1970s with their failure to get a grip on this.
Angela Rayner needs to pull her finger out. Rubbish is still piling high across Birmingham because Labour cant get control of its union paymasters holding the city to ransom.
Its blackmail and the people of Birmingham are suffering.
The row centres around the councils decision to remove waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) roles.
Previously each Birmingham bin truck was dispatched with a four-person crew which included a driver paid up to £40,476, two loaders paid up to £25,992 and one WRCO whose £32,654-a-year job included dealing with live incidents, liaising with residents and carrying out street audits.
Unite says the decision to get rid of the WRCO roles risks health and safety and means workers affected will lose £8,000 in pay.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (pictured) had pleaded with Unite to accept an improved to end the month-long crisis
With a 60 per cent turnout, 97 per cent of Unite members who voted rejected the latest offer (Pictured: Unite Unions Birmingham head office on Jennens Road)
The council says it has offered those affected alternative employment at the same pay, driver training or voluntary redundancy so no one will be forced to take a pay cut.
Announcing the result of Mondays ballot, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham took aim at Labour, saying: For weeks, these workers have faced attacks from government and their employer pushing the lie that only a handful of workers are affected by the councils plans to cut pay by up to £8,000.
Instead of peddling untruths about these low-paid workers and focusing on winning a media war, the Government should have taken the time to check facts and used its office to bring the council to the table in a meaningful way.
With a 60 per cent turnout, 97 per cent of Unite members who voted rejected the latest offer, meaning the all-out strike that has been running since March 11 will continue indefinitely.
Birmingham council said the vote was incredibly disappointing, adding: We have made a fair and reasonable offer.
Rubbish has been piling up in residential streets after striking workers started blocking vehicles from leaving the depots. Employment laws mean the council cannot engage agency staff to cover striking workers.
At the weekend it emerged the Army has been called in to help deal with the Birmingham bin strikes.
A small number – understood to be just three – of office-based military planners have been called in by the Government to give short-term logistical support. A Government spokesman said this was due to the ongoing public health risk.
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick (pictured in January) accused Labour of losing control of its union backers
Unite the Unions bins (pictured on April 14) are spotless and seemingly empty despite the ongoing industrial action brought by their union
The council has also been forced to call on neighbouring authorities for help. Although the all-out strike began in March, there have been a series of on-off walkouts since January, with some residents not having had recycling collected at all this year.
Birmingham councillor Robert Alden, Tory group leader, said the city was being held to ransom by militant unions and dysfunctional political leadership.
Sadia Khan, the chairman of Friends of Spark Green Park, said rejecting another offer is just going to make the whole population a lot sicker.
She said dead cats had been found in parks and she suspected they ate rat poison left out to reduce the growing problem of vermin.
Unites national lead officer Onay Kasab said an end to the long-running dispute was still far away.
Local government minister Jim McMahon said: I know this will be deeply disappointing for Birmingham residents who have already endured weeks of disruption.
There is a fair and reasonable offer on the table and I would urge Unite to end the strikes and return to talks.
The offer is said to include a £16,000 lump sum paid into the bank accounts of the services longest-serving workers.