UNITE, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, has called off the
Birmingham bin strike that was set for Friday 8 March after a
new deal was tabled.
A ‘heads of settlement agreement’ has been drawn up between Unite and
Birmingham city council. This is the first time that an agreement that
meets the union’s expectations has been put on the table.
Strike suspended
As a consequence and to allow Birmingham’s cabinet to discuss the
proposed offer the strike action scheduled for tomorrow has been
suspended. If the cabinet approves the deal than the bins strike
concerning ‘secret payments' and the ‘blacklisting’ of Unite members will
have concluded.
Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: 'The heads of settlement is a real breakthrough in negotiations. 'For the first time there is a deal on the table which meets Unite’s
members expectations, it is now imperative that Birmingham council’s
cabinet signs up to the deal. 'I am sure that Birmingham residents will be keeping their fingers
crossed that the cabinet does the right thing and this long running
dispute is finally brought to a close.'
Three days of action
Since the dispute started there have been three days of strike
action. An overtime ban and a work to rule have been in place since the
end of December 2018.
FOLLOWING a High Court decision supporting the Birmingham binmen in September. Birmingham City Council has had to withdraw the redundancy notices it had served on 113 binmen. This was after a long 'Summer of Discontent' and a work-to-rule by the lads over job losses and pay cuts.
It is reported in his union's magazine Autumn issue Unite Works:'The shock redundancies came after Unite and the council agreed to an Acas deal with compromise on both sides - the coucil then reneged on the deal without warning, later prompting council leader John Clancy to resign.'
Now Howard Beckett, Unite's assistant general secretary, says: 'This judgement will be a huge relief to Birmingham bin workers, who in just a matter of weeks facing losing their job or pay cuts of up to £5,000 a year.'
MR. Beckett called on Birmingham City Council Cheif Executive, Stella Manzie, to follow Mr. Clancy and stand down for her part in scuppering the Acas deal.
'{The High Court] ruling underlines that Unite will not shrink away from using all the tools at its disposal to defend its members and the services they deliver,' Beckett said.
'We urge the council to stop wasting further taxpayer's money in defending its dishourable actions and honour Acas deal which offers compromises on all sides and will settle this dispute once and for all.'
This dispute was caused by Birmingham Council trying to drop the grade 3 bin loader's job which would have left workers facing pay cuts of up to £5,000 to keep a position in the refuse service.
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.
THE Birmingham bin strike has eight days more to run in theory, yet the unions are balloting for yet more action.
Rubbish is piling up on the city streets and has been since the strike began eary in the
summer, but the current strike - which finished off Birmingham City Council
leader John Clancy - expires on September 21 .
However, a ballot for more action is expected to complete on September 18 - and union leaders have previously threatened strikes could go into next year.
Meanwhile,
union Unite is due in the High Court tomorrow seeking an injunction
against the 113 redundancies handed out by Birmingham City Council on
September 1.
The staff affected are currently on three months notice from that date - meaning they lose their jobs at the end of November. Unite's legal action is aimed at blocking those redundancies.
The union is arguing it made a deal with the city council through ACAS and it should be bound by that.
Unite’s bin workers are currently striking for a
total of three hours a day. Workers are also returning to the depot for
all lunch and tea breaks in line with Birmingham Council’s hygiene
policy.
Unite is currently re-balloting its member for further strike action, as
required by anti-trade union laws, the ballot will close on September
18. If as expected Unite’s members renew their strike mandate the
industrial action will continue until the New Year.
Unite’s bin workers are currently striking for a total of three hours a
day. Workers are also returning to the depot for all lunch and tea
breaks in line with Birmingham Council’s hygiene policy.
BIRMINGHAM City Council leader John Clancy has resigned following the city's bin dispute disaster admitting he has made mistakes.
The
Labour leader’s resignation comes as a direct result of his handling of
the bin strike - in particular the recriminations following the aborted deal he
struck with the Unite union in mid-August.
When his efforts to end the damaging dispute failed
he tried to shift blame to the Unite union, claiming there never was
deal.
This was then contradicted in both a leaked email he sent to bin depot staff and a statement from the conciliation service Acas.
He
was accused of overstepping his authority, souring relations with
unions and senior council staff and ignoring crucial legal advice in
trying to force through the deal.
A string of Labour colleagues, both in private and in public, called for him to go.
But in his resignation statement Councillor Clancy blamed what he called the ‘frenzied media speculation’ for his decision to go.
He
added: 'I wish to stress that the actions I took along with my cabinet
to negotiate an end to an extremely complex and difficult industrial
dispute were done with the best of intentions. None of us are perfect,
and I made some mistakes, for which I am sorry and take full
responsibility.'
It was his bad management of the bitter bin strike, which began on June 30, that prompted direct intervention of the Government and senior Labour
Party figures which finally led to his downfall.
Unite says Chief Executive should go!
Meanwhile Howard Beckett, assistant general secretary of the
Unite Union says that the council chief executive Stella Manzie, who he
blames for the collapse of the deal, should follow the leader and
resign.
He said: 'The interim chief executive has lost
the trust of Birmingham city council’s workforce and the people of
Birmingham. Time and again through her action Stella Manzie has shown
herself to be dishonourable.'
A key element in the collapse of the deal is the threat of
costly equal pay action had the council agreed to allow 113 redundancy
threatened binmen to remain on their current pay grade. Unite argue that
extra duties can be added to justify the grade, but council lawyers
said that such a move would be rejected by the courts.
The council’s deputy leader Ian Ward, has taken over as interim leader.
THE Birmingham bin strike fiasco is facing several separate probes as the Labour Party leadership crisis grips the city council.
Council
sources suggest the crisis surrounding council leader John Clancy and his bungled attempts to tackle a strike deal with trade unions are now the subject
of a series of top level investigations.
The
probes are set to be conducted by the Government, the Labour Party and
the Local Government Association, as well as a separate inquiry by the
council.
Next week, Councillor Clancy faces a vote of no confidence over his ‘serious mishandling’ of the dispute.
Still no end is in sight for the bin strike, which has seen piles
of black bags across the city’s streets since the end of June. Today the
council is using a mixture of agency staff and contract companies to shift the
bins on an emergency basis.
Birmingham City Council leader John Clancy is facing calls
to resign over claims he has misled the public over a deal to call off
the bins strike.
In media interviews the council boss
claimed that there was never a confirmed deal struck to preserve 113
leading hand binmen jobs at the current pay grade - only an agreement to
put the proposals on the table for further negotiations.
But
in a leaked email from the Labour leader to depot managers, sent two
weeks ago after the strike was suspended, he states he and his cabinet
had agreed the deal and adds that ‘all the terms of the compromise would
be implemented’.
Suspension lifted?
Cllr Clancy also told managers to lift the suspension and threat of disciplinary action against a binmen union representative.
There is no mention of this being subject to further detailed negotiations.
The
strike began on June 30 but was suspended on August 15 following the
announcement of the deal by the conciliation service ACAS.
The Unite union heralded it as a victory for its members threatened with redundancy or loss of pay.
But senior council officials, believed to include interim
chief executive Stella Manzie, interim chief finance officer Mike
O’Donnell, as well as members of the Labour cabinet refused to back the
deal, amid concerns that it leaves the council open to further expensive
equal pay claims from other staff.
There were also
fears the proposed deal would fail to achieve the cost and efficiency
targets from the reorganisation of the bins service.
Leaked E-mail & 'breach of procedure'
A council source said that Cllr Clancy not only bypassed
senior officials and colleagues in negotiating the deal, but acted
against the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in instructing waste
management staff that they should reinstate the union representative
suspended during the dispute.
In the email - leaked to
the Skwawkbox website - Cllr Clancy claims there are urgent reasons for
his unusual request, but it is understood political leaders are strictly
prohibited from issuing management instructions like this.
On
Friday Cllr Clancy told the Birmingham Mail that it was the Unite union
who misled the public over the deal, when it hailed victory in the
dispute. He had said: “There was no deal – there was an agreement in
principle.”
But in the leaked email, he told depot staff: “I am writing
to let you know that Birmingham City Council cabinet took the decision
last night to support the compromise which had been negotiated through
ACAS as a step forward in achieving a longer term solution to the refuge
collection dispute.
“All of the terms of the compromise
will be implemented and the Council looks forward to working with the
Union to progress discussions towards achieving a lasting solution which
works for the staff, the Council and most importantly delivers for the
people of Birmingham.
“This is a “key decision” under
the Council’s Constitution and thus falls to be made by the Cabinet.
Officers of the Council are required to act in accordance with cabinet
decisions.
"These decisions would normally be
communicated to you by officers but due to the relatively unusual
circumstances in this case, I am writing to you directly to inform you
of the decision that the Council has made.”
Labour Council Boss Not Returning Calls
Cllr Clancy was not returning calls or texts today.
But
sources close to the council leader said that the email referred
specifically and only to the issue surrounding the suspension of the
union representative and his return to work.
They said: "Cllr Clancy would not be writing to depot management about the wider issues. This was purely about the staff member.
"There
was never a deal in place and Cllr Clancy never said there was. The
discussions about the leading hand jobs were always subject to Cabinet
approval."
But Birmingham Lib Dem leader Cllr Jon Hunt said: “John Clancy’s
position is now untenable. He has lost all authority and credibility as
leader of the council. ACAS clearly believes that ‘agreement’ and ‘deal’
are the same thing.
“To make repeated public statements that there was ‘no deal’ on August
16th – even if it was an untenable deal – has served the city badly."
sent from former council worker & Unite member, Joe Bailey
UNITE has said last week’s victory in the
long running Birmingham bins dispute has protected a vital safety role.
The union said that the city council had accepted the refuse workers’
case and restored the grade 3 jobs, which are responsible for safety at
the rear of the refuse vehicles, leading to the suspension of the
industrial action. Unite said the union and the city council would hold
further talks at the conciliation service Acas to resolve outstanding
issues.
Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: “We are
very pleased that we have reached the stage where we can suspend the
industrial action while we hold further talks about the future of the
refuse service.” He added: “The council has addressed our members’
concerns, including the safeguarding of the grade 3 post that is vital
to the safety at the rear of the refuse vehicles. Unite also welcomes
the fact that our suspended rep is now returning to work.”
The vehicle
safety risks to the public and refuse workers has led to the
introduction of specific new laws in in the US. Last year, New York
State become the latest in the US to introduce a ‘slow down’ law to
protect garbage workers. Slow down laws had already been introduced in
11 other states over the last decade in response to distracted driving
that has led to sometimes fatal incidents for refuse collection workers.
BIN collections in Birmingham are to resume after weeks of mounting rubbish caused misery for the city's residents. Industrial
action has been suspended as progress was made in a long-running
dispute involving refuse collection workers, conciliation service Acas
said.
Before the latest development the Unite union had warned that the dispute could last until
Christmas, with workers campaigning against plans to cut more than 100
waste collection jobs.
What we know so far says the Birmingham Mail: The bin strike which has crippled Birmingham for almost two months has been suspended.
The breakthrough came after the city council and the Unite union held talks via the Acas conciliation service.
The
news means the mountains of rubbish left festering on the city's
streets since the dispute began in June will finally be cleared,
although there was no immediate timescale for the clean-up.
The
resolution will bring joy to residents who have had to cope with packed
bin bags piled high, while flies, maggots and rats were widely
reported.
Acas has said in a statement: 'Birmingham City Council and Unite
the Union have today made sufficient progress in their talks for the
Shop Stewards to pause industrial action. 'Birmingham City Council cabinet members have agreed in principle that the grade 3 posts will be maintained. 'Consequently there are no redundancy steps in place. 'In
addition the parties will now look to discuss, through ACAS, how the
service can be improved, with the intention of improving efficiencies in
performance of the bin collection service generally, including what
savings can be made, and specifically how best the current Grade 3 roles
can now be maintained and developed so that they take forward the
ambition to deliver cleaner streets and align to wider Total Place
principles. 'Unite have also agreed in principle to recommend to their
members work pattern changes, including consideration of a five-day
working week. 'Both parties agree the working week should be designed to maximise service delivery. 'To assist in the resolution of outstanding issues both parties will go to ACAS. 'These
discussions will be with the intention of incorporating any agreement
as an amendment to the Waste Management Service Cabinet Report in
September 2017. 'Both parties are pleased to be recommencing
industrial relations and pleased that the bin collection can resume
without disruption.'
Acas said the parties had made 'sufficient' progress in
their talks for industrial action to be paused, with council cabinet
members agreeing in principle that Grade 3 posts will be maintained, and
consequently there are no redundancy steps in place.
Unite
has also agreed in principle to recommend to its members work pattern
changes, including consideration of a five-day working week, Acas said,
with both parties agreeing that the working week should be designed to
maximise service delivery.
Discussions are set to
continue on how the service can be improved, with the intention of
improving efficiencies in performance of the bin collection service
generally, including what savings can be made.
To assist in the resolution of outstanding issues both parties will go to Acas.
Unite said the Grade 3 jobs are responsible for the safety at the rear of the refuse vehicles.
There are now expectation that similar conflicts will occur across the country, and Doncaster has been mentioned as an area of conflict in the near future.
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