Birmingham bin strike suspended after High Court win for workers

Birmingham's lengthy bin strike, which left the city's streets festering with piles of rubbish for weeks, has been suspended following a High Court victory for workers.

Unite, Britain's biggest union, temporarily called off the strike, planned to last until Christmas, after a judge granted an interim injunction to block redundancy notices being issued by Birmingham City Council.

Later this year, a trial will rule on the underlying legal dispute over the council's bid to shed staff and change working patterns.

A number of bin workers attended the two-day hearing, with one hailing the judge's ruling as "fantastic" and a "massive victory".

Unite's assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said the ruling left the authority's "unfair and unjust plans in tatters".

Mr Beckett said: "This judgment will be a huge relief to Birmingham's bin workers, who in just a matter of weeks were facing losing their job or pay cuts of up to £5,000 a year.

"As part of the ruling, Unite will suspend its industrial action until the matter is put before a full court hearing at a later date."

The union also repeated calls for Stella Manzie, the council's chief executive, to resign.

A council spokesperson said: "We obviously accept today's ruling which will mean further consideration by the courts.

"The council wants to offer the best possible refuse service for citizens and wants to work with Unite and all the other unions to do this.

"We remain committed to resolving the dispute as quickly as possible and we hope Unite will support us in doing this."

The High Court judge described the dispute over Birmingham's bin services as "extraordinary and astonishing".

Mr Justice Fraser said there was a "schism" within the council, with officers and the executive "positively working against one another in some respects".

"Neither party emerged from this remarkable saga with any credit," the judge said.

Last week, John Clancy quit as leader of the council claiming "ill-informed" media speculation about the strike was harming the local Labour party.

At the beginning of September, a previous suspension of the strike was ended after a draft agreement between union leaders and the council broke down.

During the strike, piles of waste mounting in some parts of Birmingham led to a feeding frenzy for rats, maggots, flies and other vermin.