Agency workers who were parachuted in to cover for the long-running Birmingham bin strike have now voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to walkout themselves.
In a further escalation of the crisis facing Britain’s second city, Unite the union said workers employed by Birmingham City Council will be joined on the picket lines by agency workers who were hired by Job & Talent to perform refuse work.
It will fuel fears that mountains of foetid waste could soon begin piling up on the city’s streets again, in a throwback to the grim scenes that accompanied the height of the bin strike earlier this year.
The latest setback in the protracted saga over the city’s bins quickly provoked a furious backlash against the Labour-run council, which is the largest local authority in Europe.
Cllr Robert Alden, leader of the council’s Conservative opposition, said: ‘This is a stark reminder of Labour’s utter failure to deliver the basics in our city.’
The council has been heavily reliant on agency workers to collect around 100,000 tonnes of waste from the city over the past six months – even describing them as ‘the backbone of the service’ during the strikes.
Unite said the latest vote for industrial action risks the bin strike running beyond May’s local elections unless a deal is reached.
The strike has been called over claims agency workers have been the victims of bullying and harassment.
By voting for industrial action, the agency workers will now be able to join official picket lines from December 1.
But the council has sought to minimise the significance of the move, saying only a ‘small number of agency staff’ were involved and contingency plans were in place to deal with any disruption.
Unite the union said workers employed by Birmingham City Council will be joined on the picket lines by agency workers who were hired by Job & Talent to perform refuse work
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘This is a real escalation in the dispute with agency workers now joining picket lines due to the terrible way they have been treated.’
There was a major public health scare at the height of the strike this year as residents reported seeing rats the size of cats roaming the streets
Calling on council leader John Cotton to act, Cllr Alden said the walkout by agency workers could spell fresh chaos for the city and be ‘of particular concern to residents as we approach the Christmas season’.
He told the Mail: ‘Just days ago, Birmingham’s Labour-run council patted itself on the back with a so-called “green” rating for its industrial relations, claiming all was well.
‘Now, agency bin workers have voted to join a strike already over 10 months old, plunging our streets into more chaos with rotting rubbish piles that pose real health risks to families and communities already battered by this mismanaged authority.
‘Brummies deserve clean streets, not Labour’s delusional spin and broken promises. Under their watch, industrial strife is spiralling, and every day residents are paying the price.
‘It’s time for John Cotton and his Labour team to step up, face the mess they’ve created, and back our plan to end the strike and clean up Birmingham.’
Unite claimed a growing number of agency staff are refusing to cross the picket lines of striking bin workers because of ‘unsustainable’ workloads.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘This is a real escalation in the dispute with agency workers now joining picket lines due to the terrible way they have been treated by Job & Talent and Birmingham Council.
‘Birmingham Council is spending a fortune it doesn’t have on a dispute that could easily be resolved by agreeing a fair deal for workers.’
Unite said the latest vote for industrial action risks the bin strike running beyond May’s local elections unless a deal is reached.
Talks broke down completely between Birmingham City Council and Unite in July
Hundreds of members of Unite in Birmingham have been on an all-out strike since March in a dispute over pay and jobs.
It soon led to rubbish piling on the streets as striking workers blocked refuse lorries from leaving depots across Birmingham.
The resulting chaos eventually prompted a public health scare as residents reported seeing rats the size of cats roaming the streets.
Unite said there had been no formal negotiations to end the dispute since May.
In July, council leader Mr Cotton said talks had broken down completely and warned the authority had ‘reached the absolute limit’ of what it can offer in talks with the union.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: ‘While we are disappointed the dispute has not been resolved as Unite has rejected all our offers, we are continuing to make regular waste collections and our contingency plan is working.
‘We have been collecting an average of approximately 1,330 tonnes of kerbside waste every day, more than we did prior to industrial action, and over the last six months we have collected over 100,000 tonnes of kerbside waste.
‘There has been a 22 per cent increase in tonnage of waste collected per employee and a 52 per cent improvement regarding missed collections.
‘A small number of agency staff are in a separate dispute with Job & Talent. The city council has contingency plans and will continue to look to maintain residents with a minimum of one collection a week.
‘Meanwhile we continue to move forward with the service improvements that are long overdue and that our residents need.’