Birmingham bin strike talks break down as council quits

Talks over Birmingham’s bin strike have broken down with the council leader saying the authority was “walking away”.

Conciliation service Acas has been mediating in the negotiations since May, but now leader John Cotton has said the authority has “reached the absolute limit” of what it can offer.

Mountains of rubbish have been seen across the city since bin collection workers walked out in January, with an all-out strike going on since March.

Cotton said the council had negotiated in good faith but the union had rejected all offers and the authority must now “press ahead to both address our equal pay risk and make much needed improvements to the waste service”.

He also announced it would mean waste service staff jobs would be axed, with voluntary redundancy options remaining on the table, as well as “opportunities for training and redeployment across the council.”

The union walked out on strike after claiming 170 workers would face losing up to £8,000 a year due to the council’s decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles.

However, the authority maintains far fewer workers would see their annual pay reduced, under its proposals.

Cotton said the council would continue to provide its contingency bin collections and said he was keen to bring recycling and green waste collections back “on stream”.

Although he remained committed to creating an “efficient, improved service” that met the city’s needs, he said he would not “jeopardise the considerable progress we have made in our financial recovery” by offering more than it could afford.