Unions threaten to spread bin strikes across country

Unite considering series of walkouts in event of further pay disputes like the row in Birmingham

 Daily Telegraph 

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Unite, one of Britain’s largest trade unions, is considering a series of walkouts in the event of any further pay disputes like the row in Birmingham.

Workers are embroiled in similar disputes in Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, and some Unite staff in Sheffield are already on strike.

It comes with no end in sight to the bin strike in Birmingham, where Unite members overwhelmingly rejected a second offer from the council as their walkout entered its sixth week.

The vote will be seen as a humiliation for Angela Rayner, the Local Government Secretary, after she pleaded with union bosses to accept the deal.

Critics claimed that Unite voting against the deal showed Ms Rayner and Sir Keir were “the puppets of the unions”, while council bosses called the decision “incredibly disappointing”.

A senior union source warned that several local authorities were in similar situations to Birmingham, and that workers would consider following their colleagues in walking out.

Asked whether strikes could follow across the country, the source said: “That would be the response. If it was looking for our members anywhere like it is in Birmingham, with a quarter of wages being cut, then of course there would be a response. And then it would be up to members to vote, but it’s not inconceivable.

“A lot of the funding for local authorities isn’t sorted, and then you [could] have austerity basically come back in and people’s wages start to be cut again. A lot of towns’ responses are going to be people wanting to fight against that.”

The Birmingham strike took hold after the council removed the role of waste recycling and collection officer. Unite claims this will leave 150 workers about £8,000 out of pocket, although the council says many fewer employees will be affected and that they will lose significantly less cash.

Birmingham council moved to cut costs after it effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023. The council has been blamed for mishandling an equal pay dispute that has seen it pay out almost £1.1 billion since 2012, with an estimated £760 million yet to go.

Similar disputes have been brought against several local authorities by the GMB union, raising the prospect that other councils will make similar cuts in response. An equal pay claim made by GMB against Barnet council about school support staff could leave the authority needing to find tens of millions of pounds to pay out.

Peterborough and Sheffield are among the cities most likely to experience disruption if bin strikes spread. A row over pay for refuse workers between Peterborough council and GMB is ongoing, with a union spokesman confirming that strikes were on the table.

“Our members in Peterborough are considering a revised pay offer,” said the spokesman. “We are in the process of balloting them on this offer.”

Meanwhile, Unite workers are already on strike in Sheffield because the union has not been recognised by Veolia, its employer. Other areas in which there are active pay disputes between unions and councils may face unrest, the source suggested.

The row marks the latest clash between Labour and unions, with the Government facing repeated accusations of being in hock to its “paymasters” during its first nine months in power.

In December, Labour signed off on pay rises of 2.8 per cent for public sector workers including teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants – above the 2.6 per cent inflation rate at the time.

Yet local authority chiefs have warned that £69 billion announced by Ms Rayner in funding for English councils earlier this year will do little to help cash-strapped public services.

On Sunday, Ms Rayner called in the Army using special powers in the hope of bringing the crisis closer to a solution. She insisted on Monday that there were no troops on the ground and that a limited number of personnel were helping with logistics.

On Monday, Unite renewed its attacks on the Government as its bin workers in Birmingham voted down the council’s “partial deal” that would have ended the strikes.

Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said: “For weeks, these workers have faced attacks from Government and their employer pushing the lie that only a handful of workers are affected by the council’s plans to cut pay by up to £8,000.

“Instead of peddling untruths about these low-paid workers and focusing on winning a media war, the Government should have taken the time to check facts and used its office to bring the council to the table in a meaningful way.

“The rejection of the offer is no surprise, as these workers simply cannot afford to take pay cuts of this magnitude to pay the price for bad decision after bad decision.”

Accusing the council of “moving the goalposts”, Ms Graham demanded that the Government held urgent talks and considered her union’s proposals to restructure the council’s debt.

Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow local government secretary, said the situation was a “total mess”, adding: “It shows the impotence of Rayner and Starmer, and their unwillingness to do anything about it.

“Starmer, Rayner and co just do as they’re told. They’re the puppets of the unions, and they obviously have no influence over the puppet master. When they go to the unions and say ‘please can you sort this out?’, they just stick two fingers up at them.”

Writing for The Telegraph, Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said unions “have put their money where this Government’s mouth should be – and stuffed it shut”.

Birmingham city council said Unite’s decision was “incredibly disappointing” and that residents “simply deserve better” than repeated walkouts. A spokesman said: “Our door remains open. The council must deliver improved waste services for our citizens – who simply deserve better.”

The council added that it must guard against future equal pay claims, warning that accepting Unite’s proposals would leave it vulnerable to vast payouts in the future.

Birmingham saw a previous bin strike in 2017 when collectors walked out, but the current walkout has seen rats “as big as cats” feasting on rubbish that has not been collected for more than a month.

Frustration with the strikes intensified in Birmingham on Monday after the deal was rejected, with residents considering taking matters into their own hands.

David Lock, 48, a carer, said “sympathy for the binmen is wavering now” and some locals were considering their own strike on council tax payments.

Birmingham was given special permission by Ms Rayner to raise council tax by 7.5 per cent this month. She had blocked its initial request for an increase of 9.99 per cent.

“I have some sympathy with what the binmen are saying about their pay but at some point this is going to become a public health issue,” said Mr Lock.

“The impression I have at the moment is that sympathy for the binmen is wavering now, particularly if the union are seen to be blocking a deal. A number of people have said to me now that they are thinking of withholding their council tax.”

Rayhan Mia, 26, a business student at Birmingham City University, said: “I saw a rat yesterday as big as a kitten. I think the binmen should accept whatever pay they are going to be given.”

Yaseen Mohammed, 53, a former binman now working as a postman, accused “stubborn” Unite of holding out for a “pay rise”, not just the preservation of existing jobs, adding: “It’s not on. There is too much mess on the streets – you have people fly-tipping everywhere.”