Rayner to meet with Birmingham council leaders as bin strikes continue
The city council declared a major incident on Monday March 31 because of the impact of the strike by members of the Unite union.
The Deputy Prime Minister will meet with Birmingham council leaders to discuss how to help “clear the waste backlog” for locals as the bin strikes continue, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said.
The city council declared a major incident on Monday March 31 because of the impact of the ongoing strike by members of the Unite union, which has seen tonnes of waste pile up in the streets.
Birmingham City Council Leader John Cotton, chief executive Joanne Roney and lead commissioner Max Caller will meet Angela Rayner and local government minister Jim McMahon on Saturday evening, the MHCLG spokesperson said.
Mr McMahon said: “Our first and foremost priority continues to be the residents of Birmingham – to bring this disruption to an end and accelerate the clean-up of their streets.
“Myself and the Deputy Prime Minister will continue to engage closely with the council on action they are taking to rapidly improve the situation on the ground and press all parties involved to get around the table and come to a resolution.”
He was in Birmingham on Thursday and met council chiefs in an effort to end the strike that has seen refuse workers stage a complete walkout for almost a month.
On Saturday, Ms Rayner and Mr McMahon are set to hear updates from Birmingham City Council on its plans to deal with the backlog and reach an agreement in the dispute over pay.
The MHCLG spokesperson said Birmingham council has tried to mitigate the impact of the strikes by running collections over the weekend which would not usually run on Saturdays or Sundays to help clear the streets.
The spokesperson added: “The Government has deployed logistic experts to the city to help develop a robust recovery plan.”
Mr Cotton said: “I am grateful for the continued support from central Government and local partners in the city.
“We were able to get crews out today and will continue to do all we can to clear the rubbish.
“I thank residents for their patience and staff for working hard to continue the service.”
On Friday, Number 10 told Unite to “drop their opposition” to the pay changes at the heart of the dispute with the council.
