Birmingham bin dispute goes to May Day mediation talks

Talks aimed at resolving the long-running bin strike in Birmingham are to take place from Thursday with conciliation service Acas.

Bin workers walked out in an all-out strike on 11 March in the city after several weeks of on-and-off action.

The dispute over bin workers’ pay centres on the removal of Waste Recyling and Collection Officer roles, which the union Unite has said will see affected workers lose up to £8,000 a year.

However, the city council has said a “fair and reasonable offer” has been made and “not a single worker needs to lose a penny”.

The talks on May Day will see Acas included in negotiations for the first time since the strike began, after Unite and the council agreed to go to mediation talks.

Acas is an independent service which has no statutory controls. It offers employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice.

The industrial action has seen uncollected waste stack up in the city with bin bags heaped up several feet high on some streets at times, amid complaints of rats, foxes and seagulls tearing open the plastic.

Residents have been caught in the middle of the dispute and many have stepped forward to help each other out, with neighbours sharing trips to the tip and volunteers cleaning the streets.

The authority said in April clearing the backlog was “on track” and the amount of uncollected waste had peaked at 22,000 tonnes.

In March, a major incident was declared in Birmingham amid concerns for public health and the environment.