‘Fingers crossed’ as bins dispute hangs in balance

THE outcome of the long-running dispute that ground Birmingham’s bins service to a halt remains on a knife edge with an expensive High Court case looming.

Birmingham City Council leaders have called an emergency meeting this Friday to set out their final position on the ongoing pay row.

But the Post understands that the latest round of talks between the city council and Unite union, with the help of conciliation service Acas, took place earlier this week amid optimism a resolution might be reached. However, according to council, union and Labour Party sources, the dispute is still in the balance. The council’s cabinet will now be meeting on Friday, with part of the head-to-head held in private, to agree its final position.

Details of what will be discussed at the meeting have not been revealed and those closest to the situation have remained tight-lipped, but a public version of the final report will be issued afterwards.

If there is no agreement the battle will resume in the High Court on Monday.

A source said: “We have got our fingers crossed – there may be an agreement, but there are a lot of peo- ple who have to agree it.”

Another source summed up the situation: “This is Birmingham politics, anything can happen between now and Friday.”

The dispute over the downgrading of a set of binmen’s jobs and changes to working patterns, part of a wider package of efficiency measures designed to save the city council £5.5 million a year, has been ongoing since the end of June.

Strike action during the summer caused major disruption to refuse collections and a series of mistakes over an aborted deal with the union forced the resignation of council leader John Clancy.

The two sides, in public at least, seem entrenched, with the council arguing it cannot maintain ‘leading hand’ binmen on a higher grade salary without risking another raft of costly equal pay claims from other staff.

The Unite union has been equally forthright in its refusal to back down in what it argues is an attack on workers’ pay and condition – especially after being offered a deal in August only to have it snatched away.

But since the council lost a first round of legal action in September there have been regular negotiations behind the scenes between the sides and some indications that there may be a deal.