End to Birmingham bin strike ‘within sight’, claims Labour council leader

An end to the year-long Birmingham bin strike is “within sight”, the city’s council leader John Cotton has claimed.

Cotton said that a negotiated settlement to end the bin strike was within reach after “months of hard work on the principles and parameters of a deal”.

He said: “I believe a new, improved offer can be made and terms can be put in place that addresses the ballpark issues… that Unite members can agree in order to end the strike once and for all.”

The strike began in March last year over proposed pay cuts and the elimination of several jobs, with the industrial action causing friction between trade union Unite, the Labour controlled council in Birmingham and the national Labour Party.

On the anniversary of the strike last month, Unite cut its annual party donation by 40 percent and announced plans to consult members on the union’s continued affiliation with Labour.

Unite welcomed the offer as a “vindication of the bin workers’ struggle for a decent deal” and said that a series of meetings would take place to complete the offer, but warned that any attempt to renege on the deal would result in an escalation of the dispute.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “As I have said on many occasions, the workers come first and we will always do everything in our power to ensure that our members are treated with dignity and respect.

“The move made today by the leader of the council is a vindication of the bin workers’ struggle for a decent deal.

“Over the last few months, there have been intense negotiations to get the blocked “ballpark” deal back on the table, so that our members could vote on it.

“The reason why we are not yet at that stage is purely down to the vindictive interference of the government backed commissioners who have attempted to block the deal again and clearly overstepped their remit.

“Their lack of both experience and industrial relations competence has been a major factor in this dispute, and their malevolent game playing has been an absolute disgrace. 

“They have let the workers down, the people of Birmingham down and the council down.”

The news of a potential deal comes just weeks before voters in Birmingham go to the polls to elect councillors for the next four years.

Polling by More in Common earlier this month suggests that Labour could lose more than 20 seats and lose its majority on the council.

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