Tuesday 1 August 2017

Birmingham Bin Strikes!


Howard Beckett, an assistant general secretary of UNITE, said if talks failed then industrial action, already planned to run up to the middle of September, would escalate, resulting in more waste going uncollected.
'I would also ask the Birmingham public to understand that strike action is a last resort for our members and places them in considerable financial hardship,” he said. “The reality is they have been left with no choice because of the regrade of their jobs and loss of income, which is simply unaffordable for our members.'
The dispute over changes to working practices and the downgrading of supervisor jobs has now entered its third week with no sign of a resolution in sight.
And the trade union Unite has accused the Labour run council of ‘playing games’ and being set on conflict rather than genuine negotiation. It says that redundancy notices were sent to staff, mainly the 133 leading hands, while talks are ongoing sparking fury among the members.
The extension of strike action means further misery for thousands of residents who have already seen overflowing wheelie bins left uncollected, or picked up days late, for weeks.

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