Birmingham Bin Strike Suspended

WHEN the Unite union took the Birmingham council to the High Court, claiming the move to make workers redundant was unlawful, it resulted in a judge granting an interim injunction against the council's actions.  As a consequence Unite suspended its strike action immediately from last Thursday.

A trial will now take place in November to determine if the council has acted against the law, yet Mr. Justice Fraser urged all parties to come to an agreement before the prospect of an expensive court case.

Council Leader Quit

Former council leader John Clancy resigned following criticism of his handling of the action, which came after Labour councillors proposed a no-confidence motion in their leader.
After workers had been on strike for seven weeks, Mr Clancy struck a deal with them saying no jobs would be lost and the action was suspended.
But two weeks later a council report said the deal was 'unaffordable', and redundancy notices were issued - sending workers back to the picket lines.
Mr Clancy said a deal had never been fully agreed with the union, but days later resigned from his position saying he accepted he had made mistakes 'for which he is sorry' and took 'full responsibility'.

Reasons why the Council is making people redundant

Basically, it's all about saving money.  The council says it faces 'significant financial challenges' and needs a 'high-quality, value-for-money and reliable refuse service'.
Due to government funding cuts, the authority says spending on waste management has reduced from £71m in 2011 to £65m in 2017, and it says if it does nothing the overspend will be £5.2m in future years.
It also says that compared to other councils, Birmingham is not meeting national productivity levels and it needs to improve.  Failing to improve productivity and efficiency is 'not an option', according to the local authority.