Parts of Birmingham 'still overwhelmed by rats and rubbish' as city's long-running bin strike marks first anniversary

On streets in some parts of the city, black bags, food waste and dumped household rubbish can still be seen piled high, with locals warning the situation could become even worse as temperatures rise, a year on from bin workers taking all-out strike action.

Local campaigner, Gerry Moynihan, told LBC conditions had “got worse and worse and worse” since the strike began, despite council assurances that the situation is under control.

Standing beside one large rubbish pile, he said: “Spring’s here, and then summer’s here. If the dispute isn’t settled, this is going to stink to high heaven. There are even dead rats in this pile.”

He said the waste was not confined to one spot, adding that in some places people are being forced to walk into the road to get around the mess.

Residents have also described fears over vermin and hygiene. Hikmet, who lives near one of the worst-affected sites in Bordesley Green, said fly-tipping had been a long-running issue in the area but had become worse since the strike.

He told LBC: “It’s full of rats… people throw everything.” Asked how many he had seen, he said: “More than 12.”

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With warmer weather approaching, campaigners fear the combination of rotting rubbish, strong smells, flies and rats could leave some neighbourhoods facing another difficult summer.

Mr Moynihan said: “We’re entering the rat breeding season. In a month or so, when the weather gets better, we’re going to start with the flies. The fly population is just going to go exponential.”

The long-running dispute remains deadlocked, with Birmingham City Council and Unite blaming each other for the lack of a breakthrough.

The row began over changes to the council’s waste service and the impact those reforms would have on some workers’ pay. Unite says some staff face losing thousands of pounds a year, in some cases up to £8,000. They argue the dispute could be settled if the council put forward a proposal to soften those losses.

The council, however, says it cannot agree to any deal that would recreate the kind of equal pay liabilities which pushed Birmingham into a financial crisis, causing them to declare the authority effectively bankrupt.

Council leaders say they have been overhauling pay structures and removing roles that could expose the authority to fresh legal claims, and insist they will not cross that line to end the strike.

Birmingham City Council has also said it wants to press ahead with a redesigned waste service, including the phased rollout of food waste collections and the return of improved recycling and green waste services, which have been suspended during the strike.

Unite has said it is willing to discuss modernisation, but only if workers are protected from what it describes as severe pay cuts.

Onay Kasab, Unite’s national lead officer, told LBC the strike “could have been easily resolved”, claiming the council had spent “in the region of £33 million” trying to break the action, and saying a settlement could still be reached quickly if talks resumed.

Mr Kasab said: “Name the time, name the date, name the venue, let’s get in the room and let’s negotiate.”

But Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton insisted the authority’s position had not changed, saying he wanted a negotiated settlement but could not agree to anything that would reopen equal pay liabilities.

He told LBC: “Our door is open to further negotiations. I’ve always said I want a negotiated settlement to this dispute, which has gone on for far too long.

“However, what I can’t do is give in to demands that would reopen an equal pay liability that nearly sank this council.”

Mr Cotton added the council had maintained a contingency waste service and was continuing with planned changes to modernise collections.

For residents living beside the worst of the mess, though, the row shows little sign of ending soon enough.

In a statement to LBC, Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “The bin strike in Birmingham has gone on for too long. I'm sorry for the disruption this has caused, and I would hope Unite would also want to apologise. It isn't good enough, and we want to end the dispute. But let us be clear, the council has made a series of offers to Unite to end the strike, but they have all been rejected.

“We are moving ahead with the implementation of the improved waste service this summer, a service that has been poor for too long.

“This will see the rollout of food waste collections from June this year on a phased basis, along with the return of improved recycling and green waste collection services.

“This will happen regardless of the situation with industrial action to give the people of Birmingham the waste service they deserve.

“My message to those still taking industrial action is simple: come back to work as I want you to be part of this new and improved service. Our door remains open.”