Advertisement

Rubbish piles up on Birmingham streets as binmen work to rule in ongoing dispute with council

Homeowners have been left furious after a council switched its bin collections to fortnightly – despite rat-infested rubbish piling up on their streets due to ongoing industrial action.

Residents in parts of Birmingham say they have been forced live among “disgusting” and “rotting” filth after hundreds of binmen began working to rule last month.

More than 300 Unite members are taking industrial action over a £4,000 payment given to GMB members who crossed the picket line during industrial action in 2017.

And on top of the situation, Birmingham City Council has now announced it will start collecting rubbish on a fortnightly basis.

<em>Rubbish is piling up on the streets of Birmingham (Picture: SWNS)</em>
Rubbish is piling up on the streets of Birmingham (Picture: SWNS)
<em>The council has now announced it is switching to fortnightly bin collections, despite the problems (Picture: SWNS)</em>
The council has now announced it is switching to fortnightly bin collections, despite the problems (Picture: SWNS)

It’s not the first time Birmingham’s streets have been piled high with waste – in 2017 when bin workers took industrial action thousands of tonnes of waste were left on Birmingham’s streets for up to three months.

Homeowners in parts of the Sparkhill and Balsall Heath areas of the city said their rubbish hadn’t been collected for over a month.

MORE: Temperatures plunged to -10C overnight – but worse is to come next week
MORE: Child killer ‘lured to flat and stabbed 150 times’ by three men who discovered his crimes

One mum-of-two, who lives on Court Road in Sparkhill, said: “We’re facing a return of the same problems we had a couple of years ago. It’s a disgrace they haven’t been able to resolve their differences and come to a working agreement.

“The place stinks, there are rats running around. Mountains of bin bags are piled up on the sides of the road and it there is rotting filth everywhere. I worry for the health of my two young children. It’s like a Third World country around here at the moment. It’s disgusting.”

<em>Return of 2017 – the same problems happened in 2017 when workers took industrial action (Picture: SWNS)</em>
Return of 2017 – the same problems happened in 2017 when workers took industrial action (Picture: SWNS)

Another resident, living on Cheddar Road, in Balsall Heath, added: “We are paying our taxes and should expect a basic level of service such as bin collections.

“We’re supposed to be hosting the Commonwealth Games – but we are going to be a laughing stock.”

Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Waste and Recycling, resigned from his post this week over a threat by the council to take legal action against workers.

Unite claims rival union GMB’s members were given individual payments at the end of the 2017 strike as a “reward” them for not taking part in the action but town hall chiefs and the GMB insist the payments were in settlement of a legal claim made by the union.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “We have made it very clear that the payments to GMB members were as a result of a failure to consult during the negotiations that ended the 2017 dispute.

“They were not payments for working during the industrial action.”

Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, added: “We are determined to resolve the dispute and have had extensive talks with Trades Union colleagues via ACAS.

“But until we reach a resolution we need to do everything we can to minimise the disruption to the people who live in Birmingham.

“Based on the effect of the dispute so far, we have reviewed our original contingency and are now putting forward a plan that fits with the staffing resource we have available.

“I know the fact that we may not be able to recycle as much as we did before will be of concern to residents who are keen to do their bit for the environment, but our top priority has to be that of citizens overall – clean streets for Birmingham.

“We thank those who are committed to throwing away as little waste as possible and look forward to ending this dispute so they can resume their recycling.

“I would like to apologise for any missed collections that anyone has experienced so far.

“We are determined to get back to delivering the first-class refuse service the citizens of Birmingham deserve.”