Fear Birmingham could reach ‘crisis point again’ as bin strike disruption continues

The city’s all-out bin strike, triggered by a dispute between the city council and Unite the union, has caused a fresh wave of disruption recently, with the local authority blaming striking bin workers at its depots.

The Labour-run council warned residents multiple times this week that only a small number of its waste lorries could be deployed and that the number of collections it could make would therefore be affected.

The latest turbulence in the ongoing bin strike saga came after West Midlands Police reportedly reduced the number of officers at the depots.

The force also confirmed the use of powers to keep protesters behind barriers, under Section 14 of the Public Order Act, were “no longer in place”.

Weeks after the city council declared a major incident and managed to clear thousands of tonnes of waste, there are now fears the situation could worsen again.

“At the end of March, a major incident was announced,” Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Roger Harmer said. “Human-height mounds of black bags became commonplace, the build up of rotting rubbish attracted rats.

“It was a national embarrassment and terrible for the city’s reputation.”

While Coun Harmer said the strikers had a “legitimate reason” to protest, he went on: “Residents’ health and wellbeing should always be the priority and waste clearance is a vital service that must continue.

“Workers who are not striking must be allowed to do their job and keep the city clear of hazardous pile ups.

“The police have powers to stop strikers from obstructing working crews – they should not wait for the city to reach crisis point again before acting.”

One area where the bins strike misery continues is Kitchener Road in Selly Park, where two heaps of rubbish were blighting the residential street as of Friday afternoon, May 23.

During a previous visit, on April 24, refuse workers arrived and threw bin bags which had piled up into the back of a truck, before clearing the leftover litter.

“The bin bags will pile up again – if it was once a week, it wouldn’t be an issue,” one resident told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) at the time.

“It’s got to the stage where we’re used to it now. We’ve just got to wait for it to be cleared and hope [the dispute] gets resolved soon.”

Around a month later and the bin bags have indeed piled up again in Kitchener Road, accompanied by flies and an eye-watering stench.

“It’s not pleasant, there’s rats about late at night,” one resident living near the waste said last month.

A second said foxes were rummaging through the piles of rubbish and tearing the bin bags apart.

“But the main issue is that it just doesn’t look nice – it makes the area look dirty when it’s not,” he continued.

“It’s ridiculous seeing this in Birmingham,” another local added. “It’s unacceptable – we shouldn’t be seeing this situation.

“The council has to find a solution – they are responsible.”

Around the corner on the busy Pershore Road, wheelie and communal bins filled to the brim with rubbish lined the pavement while bags of rubbish rested against the walls of certain front gardens.

What the council and police have said

Addressing concerns over the picket lines earlier this year, chief constable Craig Guildford told BBC Radio WM: “Our job is to make sure we police proportionally, that we are fair, that we tread that middle ground and that we facilitate lawful protest – and at the same time, people wanting to go to work.

“We’ve got ample resources to police these things and the commander on the ground will increase or reduce that resource as he or she sees fit.

“With regard to the police acting now, we’ve acted all the way through.”

In a more recent statement on its presence at the pickets, West Midlands Police said: “Following a High Court ruling last week on the use of s14 powers, we have reassessed the legal position and the powers available to us.

“The section 14 legislation is no longer in place as the issue does not currently meet the threshold.

“We will continue to assess the situation and ensure our presence at the sites is in line with our core policing responsibilities.”

The Birmingham bins strike dispute was triggered by the council’s plans to scrap a Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, which Unite claimed would force “dedicated workers onto pay levels barely above the minimum wage”.

The council has insisted in the past that a “fair and reasonable offer” has been made, with council leader John Cotton adding it “cannot and will not entertain anything that would re-open an equal pay liability”.