As Britain’s second city festers under thousands of tonnes of uncollected rubbish, it seems the union bosses behind the crippling strikes have escaped the chaos.
Aerial images of Unite’s regional office in Jennens Road, Birmingham, show the union’s bins are spotless and seemingly empty.
The green commercial waste bins are provided by Birmingham City Council with their ‘Cleaner Greener Streets’ displays clearly visible.
The images are in stark contrast to the rest of the city, where bags and festering rubbish have been piling up since strike action began on March 11 in a row over pay.
Bin workers will today vote on a ‘partial deal’ aimed at ending their all-out strike, with the result due this evening.
But there are fears the crisis could rubble on amid claims a deal between bin workers and Birmingham City Council was scuppered by Unite.
Some local union members are said to be dissatisfied with how the dispute has been handled amid claims of internal power struggles. Unite dismissed the claims as ‘entirely without merit’.
Unite the Union’s bins are spotless and seemingly empty despite the ongoing industrial action brought by their union
Aerial images of Unite’s regional office in Jennens Road, Birmingham, show the union’s bins are spotless and seemingly empty.
The bin store at Unite’s regional HQ is spotless and empty of rubbish – in contrast to elsewhere in the city
Speaking on GB News this morning, Harriett Baldwin, conservative MP for West Worcestershire accused Unite of holding the city to ‘ransom’.
She said: ‘It’s another really shocking example of when this government negotiates, it’s everyone else who pays.
‘My understanding is that this is Unite holding Birmingham to ransom, all the residents of Birmingham who are now under a real risk to their health.
‘It is another shocking example that this Government won’t stand up to them because they take millions in union donations.
‘It’s an absolutely shocking situation. They need to take on these unions and find someone else to collect the bins in Birmingham.’
At the weekend it emerged the Army has been called in to help deal with the Birmingham bin strikes, which have left up to 21,000 tonnes of rubbish piled in the streets.
Rubbish bags lie on the street, as the strike action by Birmingham bin workers represented by the Unite union enters its sixth week
Bins are overflowing in the city with the government forced to call in the Army to help
On Monday, workers collected bin bags of waste from local residents at a temporary rubbish collection point set up in the Shard End suburb of Birmingham
Temporary collection points have been set up to try to deal with the crisis
Residents are desperately trying to get rid of rubbish which has been piling up since refuse workers ramped up a strike last month
Angela Rayner, the communities secretary, has asked the military to offer logistical support after five weeks of deadlock between the city council and Unite.
The union is fighting restructuring plans that it says will lead to hundreds of its members having their pay cut by up to £8,000 a year. The council that only 17 workers will be affected and will lose far less than is claimed.
Rayner, who urged Unite to accept an improved offer last week, is understood to have used formal powers known as ‘military aid to the civil authorities’ to bring in soldiers, with the option to increase their number if needed.
The soldiers are believed to be office-based and Sky News reported the initiative will involve just three staff from the military.
Number 10 said on Monday that the military personnel helping the council have ‘operational planning expertise’.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters that the recruits were ‘purely office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise’, with ‘no plans’ to bring in frontline personnel to help the authority.
Birmingham City Council says that the refuse worker role at issue, that of waste recycling and collection officer, created after a previous strike in 2017, falls foul of equal pay laws.
Unite says the plans will lead to £8,000 pay cuts for hundreds of workers.
Birmingham City Council disputes the figures, saying only 17 workers will be affected. It has declared a major incident and asked neighbouring authorities to help clear the backlog of rubbish on the streets.
The Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government said a number had offered to assist.
Walsall Council was among them, offering support by extending tip opening hours so that Birmingham residents could take their waste there.
But on Monday, Walsall Council leader Gary Perry said the offer had been withdrawn.
He said: ‘We, in line we many other local authorities, offered support to Birmingham City Council in the form of access to our HWRCs (household waste recycling centres).
‘After a week, there were no signs of this being accepted, so we have taken the decision to take this offer off the table, so we can focus on continuing to deliver services in our borough.’
Union general secretary Sharon Graham, 56, said: ‘This dispute is not about greed or increased pay. It is about workers losing up to £8,000 of their pay.
‘While after many weeks there has now been a partial deal on pay protection for a few, it still leaves these workers worrying about how they are going to pay their mortgages and rent.
‘These workers are in the driving seat around what they wish to accept.’
Unite and Birmingham City Council have been contacted for comment.
