- Angela Rayner’s commissioners block deal

 - Council leader missing from all negotiations

Talks aimed at resolving the Birmingham bin strike have been sabotaged by government commissioners. 

The talks, which started on 1 May under the auspices of the conciliation service ACAS, set out a clear timeline for the discussed offer (known as the ballpark offer) to be tabled by the council.

This offer is still not with the union. Indeed, the receipt deadline agreed with ACAS has been broken three times. What has become increasingly clear is that the offer is now being blocked by the government commissions and the leader of the council. None of whom have ever been in the negotiating room.

At the ACAS talks the council side was headed up for the first time by Birmingham council managing director Joanne Roney. She assured the meeting that she was the decision maker and at the table to negotiate. Discussions then took place in good faith.

This latest debacle comes after it was confirmed that the ‘fair and reasonable offer’ that the prime minister, deputy prime-minister and the leader of the council had been briefing to the press, urging Unite to accept, did not exist.

On day one of the ACAS talks, the trade union side asked the council for a copy of the 'fair and reasonable' offer for all affected workers being pushed by the government and the council leader. As Unite had been saying all along, it simply did not exist.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it.

“The offer briefed to the press for all affected workers simply never existed and the new ballpark offer discussed at ACAS has now been blocked by government commissioners. Instead of trying to injunct picket lines and attack workers, the council leader should stop playing games, get in the room and solve this dispute.

“Birmingham city council’s bin workers, residents and the public at large have all been lied to.

“The bottom line is that our members can’t afford to have savage pay cuts of up to £8,000 with no mitigation. Until that issue is addressed the strikes will continue.

"If Labour is truly the party for workers, how can this government be aiding and abetting these cuts and once again allowing workers and communities to pay the price?”

Unite is now calling on the prime minister to make sure that the real decision makers are in the negotiations and that they back up their public claims that bin workers don’t need to lose money with a clear and meaningful offer, as promised.

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.