Union agrees to mediation talks

The Unite union has agreed to attend mediation talks with conciliation service Acas next week to try to settle the ongoing bin strike in Birmingham.

It said talks with the city council broke up after 45 minutes on Wednesday without any progress.

The all-out strike by Unite members over plans to downgrade refuse workers, who could lose up to £6,000 a year each, started on 11 March.

The strike, now in its seventh week, led to a major incident being declared last month amid concerns for public health and the environment.

Waste has been piling up in the city since hundreds of bin workers started all-out strike action as a result the dispute over pay and jobs.

The union has now reached an agreement to continue talks with Acas on 1 and 2 May.

On Tuesday, Jim McMahon, housing, communities and local government minister, said at least 26,000 tonnes of rubbish had been removed from Birmingham’s streets and “regular bin collections have resumed” amid the disruption.

However recycling and garden waste collections, which were suspended at the beginning of the year, remain affected.

In a recent statement, Unite said a deal “would be much closer” if promises made by the council in interviews were put in writing.

Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, previously said he was keen the two parties continued talking so they could bring the dispute to a close.