Birmingham City Council has suspended all bin collections after agency workers, originally hired to cover for striking bin collectors, joined the picket lines themselves on Monday. The dramatic escalation forced the council to halt city-wide waste services, apologizing to residents as the long-running dispute enters a new phase.
Around 40 agency workers walked out at the Smithfield depot near Birmingham city centre, joining approximately 200 pickets. The agency staff, employed through the Job&Talent agency, had voted for strike action two weeks ago. Their decision to join the industrial action stems from allegations of bullying, harassment and blacklisting threats within the council's refuse department.
Workers claim the council created a "league table" inside the Smithfield depot, publicly ranking drivers by tachograph readings and alleged infringements. The practice contributed to what Unite describes as an "unsustainable workload" and "toxic workplace culture."
Union calls for negotiations
Onay Kasab, Unite's national lead officer, said the development shows how badly the council has mishandled the dispute. Speaking at a demonstration in Pershore Street, he said: "What we have got is the dispute actually escalating – more and more people joining the strike."
He emphasized the unusual nature of replacement workers joining a strike: "There are disputes where sometimes in small numbers people join the strike as it goes on – what you don't have is agency workers who have been brought in to break the strike actually balloting and voting and coming out on strike themselves as well. And that tells you so much about how Birmingham City Council have mishandled this dispute. [...]"
Kasab stressed that resolution remains possible: "[...] We need negotiations. None of us want to see this dispute escalated. None of us want to see a single day's further strike action. There is an end here. There is a resolution here. All we need is negotiations. [...]"
Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said: "Birmingham council will only resolve this dispute when it stops the appalling treatment of its workforce." She added: "Instead of wasting millions more of council taxpayers' money fighting a dispute it could settle justly for a fraction of the cost, the council needs to return to talks with Unite and put forward a fair deal for all bin workers."
Zarah Sultana, Your Party MP for Coventry South, joined the picket line in solidarity. She told the crowd: "I am here as a proud member of Unite the Union, I am here as the MP for Coventry South, bringing solidarity from Coventry. [...] This is an attack on the workers that keep this city clean, that keep this city running. No one will ever accept an £8,000 pay cut in a cost-of-living crisis."
Council defends record
Birmingham City Council announced on social media Monday: "Due to expected mass pickets and protests across our waste depots, we have taken the decision to suspend collections today. We apologise for the inconvenience. Collections will resume tomorrow. We aim to complete all collections by Sunday."
The council disputes the workers' claims. Investigators concluded their full investigation into blacklisting allegations and found no blacklisting took place. The council said it "does not condone any actions which are contrary to legislation and good employment practice."
The council defended its contingency arrangements, stating: "While we are disappointed the dispute has not been resolved as Unite has rejected all our offers, we are continuing to make regular waste collections and our contingency plan is working. We have been collecting an average of approximately 1,330 tonnes of kerbside waste every day, more than we did prior to industrial action, and over the last six months, we have collected over 100,000 tonnes of kerbside waste. [...]"
The original strike by directly-employed bin workers began in March, with the dispute now set to stretch into a second Christmas period. Unite says the number of workers refusing to cross picket lines is "growing daily," while the council characterizes the striking agency workers as "a small number."
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
