Bin strikes could “absolutely” spread beyond Birmingham, a union boss has warned as a dispute between refuse workers and the city’s council drags on.
Rubbish has been piling up on the city’s streets and there have been warnings of a public health emergency as hundreds of workers have been on all-out strike for more than a month, with the Unite union rejecting an offer from the council on Monday.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham was asked how likely it was that the bin strikes could spread to other parts of the country.
“Well, if other councils decide to make low-paid workers pay for bad decisions that they did not make, workers paying the price yet again, then absolutely, of course, we all have to take action in those other areas,” she told LBC.
The union’s national lead officer Onay Kasab agreed there was potential for industrial action in further areas.
“Well, if other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading.
“That’s why different political choices need to be made,” he told BBC Radio 4.
Ms Graham criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s Government, saying it had taken them “a huge amount of time to get involved in the dispute” between the union and Birmingham City Council.
The Government has stepped in and attempted to prompt an end to the deadlock and had urged the Unite union to accept the deal.
A small number of office-based military planners were called in by the Government to give logistical support to clean up the streets.
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones on Tuesday urged Unite to accept the “good offer” on the table so Birmingham can “get back to normal”.
“So our message loud and clear is Unite need to call off the strike, accept the deal, and let’s get back to normal, which is what people expect and what people deserve,” she told BBC Breakfast.
She said strikes are “always a last resort” when asked if she thought they could spread.
“One of the first things we did when we got into Government back in July was to negotiate deals with trade unions where years of under-investment, years of underpay, had led to all kinds of problems and strikes that were costing everybody in the NHS, costing huge amounts of money.
“So nobody wants to see strikes, they’re always a last resort.”
More than 11,000 tonnes of waste has been collected during efforts to clear the backlog of rubbish, according to local government minister Jim McMahon.
Unite said its members in Birmingham voted overwhelmingly against what the union described as the council’s “totally inadequate” offer, which it maintained still included pay cuts.
Ms Graham said pay would be cut by up to £8,000, or around a quarter of pay, under the council’s plans.
She urged the Government to call a meeting with the stakeholders to address the issues and bring the strike to an end, as well as to urgently consider Unite’s proposal for debt restructure at Birmingham City Council.
Birmingham Council said it was disappointed, but that “our door remains open” to continue discussions.
Further talks are planned for Wednesday.
