Ministers urged to step in over commissioner-led 'slash and burn policies' against city

 

Striking Birmingham bin workers have rejected a one off non-consolidated cash offer from Birmingham council in exchange for a brutal permanent pay cut.

 

More than 350 refuse workers began strike action in January over the scrapping of the safety critical Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, resulting in pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers.

 

The workers, who have already voluntarily accepted cuts to pay and terms and conditions to assist the council after it effectively declared bankruptcy, fear further attacks on jobs and wages.

 

Negotiations to end the dispute are being hampered due to the influence of commissioners, who were appointed by the previous government to oversee massively damaging budget reductions.

 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The working people of Birmingham did not create this crisis and should not be made to pay for it. At the moment, the commissioners seem to be blindly imposing the last government’s slash and burn policies against Birmingham and it is just making things worse.

 

“Ministers should now step in. Cutting vital public services to the bone and victimising workers is not what Labour was elected to do.”

 

The workers are taking strike action on 17, 18, 20, 25, 26 and 27 Feb and 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 28 and 31 March and 2 and 4 April. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved.

 

Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “Any confidence Birmingham’s refuse workers had that the commissioner-led reform was about turning a basket-case service into a functional one is gone.

 

“The service is chronically short staffed but the council has offered every full-time employee voluntary redundancy. At the same time, management continues to throw money down the drain on expensive employment agencies. Recycling is almost non-existent – not because of the strikes but because the lorries don’t work.

 

“It’s glaringly obvious to both staff and residents, that the service is an unholy mess and is being driven further and further into the ground. It is time central government intervened over this race-to-the-bottom against jobs and services.”   

 

ENDS

 

For media enquires ONLY contact senior Unite communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215 or 020 3371 2065. 

Email: ryan.fletcher@unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.