‘Wouldn’t catch me rummaging around bins in Small Heath’: Roland Rat reacts to the Birmingham bin strike amid sightings of rats as big as cats
Roland Rat, from Birmingham, has spoken out about the bin strike in his home city as reports of rats as big as cats being spotted continue
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He is arguably Birmingham’s most famous rat - after being created by a puppeteer who hails from the city.
Now Roland Rat, the 1980s children’s character, has given his verdict on the rats as big as cats that have been spotted in his home city currently dealing with a bin strike that shows no signs of ending.
Yesterday bin workers in the UK’s second city ‘overwhelmingly’ rejected a deal that would have ended the all-out strike that has caused bin bags to pile up in the streets.
One man has told how his Mercedes has been ‘completely written off’ after rats chewed through the wiring during the industrial action.
‘Wouldn’t catch me rummaging around bins in Small Heath’
Speaking about the Birmingham bin strike Roland Rat said: “Most of the rats wandering around the bins and rubbish of Birmingham are pretty thick, let’s be honest . They might be ‘big as cats’ but most have brains the size of gnats.
“But be kind to ‘em, remember we spread the bubonic plague across Europe!
“Incidentally ya wouldn’t catch me rummaging around the bins in Digbeth or Small Heath. “Not one of ‘em could host their own show or have a chart topping single like yours truly.
“As far as vermin go, they ain’t totally stupid, but there’s only one superstar rodent and that’s me ratfans yeahhhhhhh! LUV ROL xxx”
What are Roland Rat’s links to Birmingham?
Roland was created by puppeteer David Claridge who grew up in West Heath in the south of the city and attended classes in mime, puppetry and acting at the MAC (Midlands Arts Centre) in Cannon Hill Park.
The rat character won a legion of fans while appearing in TV shows from his fictional home, The Ratcave, under the King’s Cross railway station and his hit single Rat rapping.
He had multiple shows including The Spectacular Shedvision Show which aired from the shed on the roof of the TVAM studios.
A giant rat costume was also spotted in the public gallery at Birmingham City Council House during a meeting about the bin strikes last week.
What is happening with the Birmingham bin stike since the latest pay deal was rejected?
Negotiations between the council and Unite, which is representing the striking workers, have stalled for months, and refuse workers have been on indefinite strike since 11 March.
Adam Yasin, 33, from the Balsall Heath area of the city, said workers’ decision to reject a deal was a “nightmare”, claiming his Mercedes car had been “completely written off” because of the damage caused by rats.
Roland isn’t the only familiar face to speak out about the bin strike. Nigel Farage has blamed the Labour run council saying: “In Birmingham, if you vote for a Labour council that’s what you get – 17,000 tonnes of rubbish and rats the likes of which have not been seen since the Western Front.
“I haven’t been to Birmingham, I have a couple of friends who have visited and said it really is awful and it represents a genuine health hazard.
“And I know that 24 hours ago, Army logistics have been called in to Birmingham but I suspect what we actually need are going to be some soldiers pretty damn quickly, and an army of rat catchers and lots of terrier men and things like that to sort this out, but there you go.
“If you vote Labour at local-government level, that’s what you get.”
What do the bin workers of Birmingham say about the ongoing strike?
A striking bin worker whose role is being removed by Birmingham City Council has said she fears she could lose her home.
The waste recycling and collection officer named Wendy, who did not give her surname, told the PA news agency outside the council’s offices in Victoria Square she is not asking for more money but wants to keep her wages at the current level rather than see them cut.
She said: “I’m a single parent and I bought up three children. I also rent my property from Birmingham City Council, so if I lose £600 potentially I could lose my home.
“So the impact on it, everything’s going up, but our wages are just stopped there. They are rising everything, especially the council rents, but they want to lower your wages.”
Wendy, from Hall Green, said she loved her job and wanted to get back to work, adding: “When you’re on the back of that wagon, it doesn’t matter if it’s rain, sun, hail, snow, ice – it’s a job where you can have a laugh every day with the family you have created in that yard.
“This is what I like doing. It’s an amazing job, what place can you go in every day and just have a laugh. It’s all family there.”
What has the union said about the bin strike and could it spread to other cities?
Onay Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, said Birmingham City Council has “shifted the goalposts on several occasions” on pay.
Mr Kasab told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: “The fact is that the council have shifted the goalposts on several occasions.
“At some points they’ve said it’s about equal pay. Other points, they’ve said it’s about a better service.
“Quite how you get a better service by cutting people’s pay, I don’t know. And now we are talking about cost. That’s the reality here.”
He added: “I think different political decisions need to be made. Why should working people be forced to pay the price for austerity? Why should our members pay the price for cuts to local authorities?”
On the industrial action spreading, Mr Kasab said there is the “potential” for strike action in other parts of the country if local authorities cut the pay of public service workers.
Mr Kasab was asked on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 if the strike action in Birmingham could spread to other parts of the country.
He said: “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.”
Mr Kasab added: “It’s not about doing things more efficiently, I don’t think cutting the pay of public service workers is doing things more efficiently.
“If the pay of public service workers is attacked in other local authorities, then we shouldn’t be surprised when people take action.”
What has Birmingham City Council said about the strike and has the army been deployed to clean up the city streets?
Getting the Army out onto the streets of Birmingham to clear piles of rubbish amid an indefinite bin worker strike is “not a consideration”, the council’s strategic director of city operations has said.
Speaking to the PA news agency at Birmingham City Council’s offices in Victoria Square on Tuesday, Craig Cooper said he was grateful for the Army’s assistance behind the scenes but there are no plans to get the military out on the streets.
Asked if it was an option, Mr Cooper said: “It’s not a consideration. Birmingham has proudly signed the Armed Forces Covenant and we have a long history and a long partnership with the Armed Forces, and we’re very proud of our association with the Armed Forces and the MoD (Ministry of Defence).
“We’ve had a small team of three military logisticians that have been working in our command cell, as part of our deployment team.
“This small team that we’ve had has worked in an integrated way with us, and they’ve been key to our success over the last 10 days, and I’m thankful for that.”
