With a growing number of homebuyers and renters deterred from living in England’s second city owing to the ongoing bin strike, Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident, with 17,000 tonnes of waste on the streets.
Leader John Cotton told the press that the call for help was in response to concerns for public health as the authority struggles to clear mounting rubbish levels.
Its declaration means the authority can increase its street cleaning operation and fly-tipping removal, by bringing in an extra 35 vehicles and crews.
Unite union members have been on all-out strike for three weeks over pay and potential salary cuts and demotions.
As the strike was being raised in the House of Commons, the government said it was “monitoring the situation closely”.
It was “regrettable” the council had to take this step, Cotton said.
“[But] we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham,” he said.
“I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful and sadly the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city’s environment.
“Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service’s contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets.”
Talks between the council and Unite broke down at the end of last week, after no agreement was reached in the all-out strike, which began on 11 March
Speaking in the House of Commons, local government minister Jim McMahon, said: “If local leaders on the ground in Birmingham feel that tackling these issues goes beyond the resources available to them and they request national support, then of course we stand ready to respond,” he said.
“This government will always back local leaders and give them the support that they need.”
However, Kevin Hollinrake, shadow local government secretary, accused the government of being in “total denial” and said declaring a major incident was not enough.
The move came after the Conservatives wrote to ministers to hold urgent talks and send in “strike-busting private rubbish collectors to help clean up the rat-infested rubbish covered streets”.
Unite claims planned restructuring of the refuse service will see some 50 workers lose £8,000 a year, and about 20 lose £2,000 annually.
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