Streets ‘piled high’ with rubbish until New Year, says union chief
BIN workers went back on strike yesterday as a union leader warned that the dispute could run into next year.
Staff joined the picket line after crunch talks broke down with the council.
There were grim scenes when mountains of rubbish and bin liners began to stack up on residential streets after the strike started in July.
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Residents were forced to clear their refuse after maggots and rats started to emerge from stacks of bin bags, which were piled more than 8ft high in some areas of Birmingham.
There had been temporary agreement between the two parties after Acas stepped in and workers did return to their jobs on August 16.
But the authority was accused of reneging on the deal yesterday and began issuing redundancy notices.
A Unite union spokesman said: “It does a great disservice to the people of Birmingham and the city’s refuse workers who now face being made redundant and losing their livelihoods or pay cuts.
“The last thing refuse workers want to do is resume industrial action and see piles of rubbish accumulating on Birmingham’s streets. This is their city too.”
The council wants to modernise and save £5million a year, but Unite believe that more than 120 refuse collectors’ jobs are at risk.
Council leader John Clancy said: “The new waste collection system we are introducing will provide a better, more efficient service. We will be creating more than 200 new refuse collection jobs.”
MORE misery is in store for the people of Birmingham as bin collectors have gone back on strike. The long-running industrial dispute has previously led to stinking rubbish piling up in the street. Worryingly, this is a vision of what could happen to other towns and cities if miserly councils get their way.
A number of local authorities across the country are planning to implement monthly bin collections. Under such a plan even households that diligently recycle would struggle leading to mess, unpleasant odours and vermin.
It is simply unacceptable for our streets to resemble something out of the Middle Ages because councils cannot provide a service as basic as frequent and reliable bin collections.