Strike action by Birmingham City Council refuse workers will last until September after Unite claims council bosses have withdrawn from planned talks and begun issuing redundancy notices.
Unite has accused Birmingham city council waste service bosses of “playing games” and being more interested in “conflict” than finding a negotiated settlement to an ongoing dispute over plans to axe 121 waste collection jobs.
Unite says attempts to negotiate a settlement have been “thwarted” by council bosses, who instead of attending planned talks, have “withdrawn” from them and begun issuing redundancy notices to Birmingham’s refuse workers.
Unite said it had “little option” but to step up its industrial action with a further series of daily one and two hour stoppages stretching through August until 1 September.
Planned two hour stoppages on 19 and 27 July and 4 August starting at 06:00 will go ahead and now be supplemented first by a series of one hour stoppages. These start at 12:30 on Friday 28 and Monday 31 July and each day thereafter, up to and including Tuesday 1 September.
A series of daily two hour stoppages starting at 06:00 then kicks in on Monday 7 August concluding on Tuesday 1 September, effectively seeing workers stop work on a daily basis for three hours on these dates.
There will also be an overtime ban in place with workers also returning to depots for all lunch and tea breaks in line with Birmingham city council’s hygiene rules.
“Game Playing”
Unite regional officer Lynne Shakespeare said: “We met with council bosses last week in the hope of agreeing a form of words that would enable us to enter into meaningful negotiations to resolve the dispute.
“That goodwill was not reciprocated by council bosses though, who instead engaged in game playing and withdrew from the process before proper talks could get underway.
“Instead of seeking resolution, waste service management has sought conflict by ploughing on with its ill-conceived plans for the service and serving loyal workers with redundancy notices.
“We urge the council to think again and start listening to its workers by engaging in meaningful negotiations to resolve this long running dispute.”
“The blame for any missed collections rests squarely with council bosses who have shown themselves incapable of running the service, let alone capable of making any meaningful or positive changes to it.
“We urge the council to think again and start listening to its workers by engaging in meaningful negotiations to resolve this long running dispute.”
Unite has said that the overspend for the 2016/17 financial year, previously thought to be £9.7 million, had been confirmed by a top council boss as rising to £11.9 million contradicting the authority’s previous press statements that these cuts were due to budget cuts and austerity measures.
Unite members voted by 90% for strike action over proposed job cuts to the city’s waste and refuse service and attempts by council bosses to tear up long standing agreements with the union covering staffing levels and working patterns.
The workers also voted by 93% for industrial action short of a strike.
The ballot results came on the same day as council bosses announced that they intended to make 121 waste collection staff redundant, which is about 20% of the actual refuse collection squad.
“Pressures & Demands”
Jacqui Kennedy, Corporate Director for Place at Birmingham City Council, previously commented on the ballot: “As has been widely reported, the council needs to save £171m by 2021 and this is a challenge being faced by all service areas within the council.
“In terms of waste management, pressures and demands on the service continue, and mean we have to find ways of saving in the region of £10m more on an annual basis. Doing nothing is simply not an option. We need to offer our services in a more productive, effective and efficient way.
“The proposals we are consulting on will achieve all of these objectives and bring the council’s waste management service into line with many other councils nationally.
“What we have developed is a carefully considered and informed model that will ensure our services are on a sound and affordable footing for the future.”
“For some staff this could mean taking up a different role, and there are sufficient vacancies within the new structure proposal to ensure that all affected staff have this opportunity. We are also looking at how we can make promotion opportunities available for those potentially affected.
“What we have developed is a carefully considered and informed model that will ensure our services are on a sound and affordable footing for the future.
“The council remains focussed on ensuring that all our services make best use of public funds and that we deliver high quality services to the public.
“It is evident that there are more cost effective ways of working in refuse collection. The consultation period has already been extended twice at the request of the trades unions to enable them to develop some alternative proposals.
“Management are committed to working closely with union colleagues to help them produce alternative proposals. It is therefore disappointing this action is being encouraged whilst we continue to work so closely.”
