Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident over a bin strike and said that picket lines blocking its depots are preventing waste vehicles from collecting 17,000 tonnes of rubbish
A major incident has been declared with around 17,000 tonnes of waste uncollected in Birmingham due to a strike.
Birmingham City Council has issued the worrying update due to the huge amounts of rubbish that is now gathering around the city. Members of the Unite union in Birmingham are holding an all-out strike which has led to rubbish piling up in the streets.
The council says daily blocking of its depots by pickets has meant workers cannot get their vehicles out to collect waste from residents and declaring a major incident will initially increase the availability of street cleansing and fly-tip removal with an additional 35 vehicles and crews around the city.
The major incident will also allow the council to explore what further support is available from neighbouring authorities and the Government to assist in the management of the situation.
Council leader John Cotton said: “It’s regrettable that we have had to take this step but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham.”
Birmingham City Council said it will make redundant up to 76 bin workers behind the all-out strike which has blighted the city. Photographs show mountains of rubbish bags lining streets, which has led to rats and cockroaches trawling through litter. With no apparent end in sight, the council stressed last Thursday evening it has “made a very fair offer” to the refuse workers, and now it must proceed with “compulsory redundancies” to find a way forward.
Unite, though, responded to the move, describing the council’s actions “disgusting”. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The council has tried to smear Birmingham refuse workers with totally baseless accusations of threats and intimidation on peaceful picket lines.
“But the only threats and intimidation have come from the council itself by saying it will fire more than 70 workers who sent letters of protest about the pay cuts. The council’s behaviour is absolutely disgusting. Bully boy tactics are just making this dispute worse – our members will not back down and neither will Unite.”
Fed-up residents have spoken of their horror after their streets were invaded by monster rats the size of cats which have been attacking cars and jumping out of wheelie bins.
Locals in Birmingham say they are being plagued by the rodents more than ever due to the ongoing bin strikes, an increase in fly-tipping and HS2 building work. The infestation is leaving car owners with pricey repair bills as rats have been chomping through wires and cables after nesting under the bonnets.
Other homeowners say they have found them nesting in their wheelie bins and believe the problem is getting “out of control” across the city. Residents of Drews Lane, in Washwood Heath, say their area has become a rat hotspot and attributed the problem to nearby HS2 construction work.
Kim Blakeman said: “The rats are huge – they are like small cats and their tails are really chunky. They are in and out of our recycling bins, and since HS2 has started across the road we’ve had more of an influx. The council don’t bother litter picking our road anymore. People fly-tip, it’s a perfect nesting site and the rats come and feed in our bins. We as neighbours collectively had to take our rubbish to the tip last week as the bin men won’t.
“The litter from HS2 is blowing over the road into our gardens. They are moving so much dirt and it should be dampened down but it’s not. I refuse to clean my windows now because they keep getting dirty. You can see rats jumping out of cars. I opened my bonnet last week and found a load of rat droppings inside.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s getting grim, I see a rat pretty much daily now, they are absolutely everywhere. They are eating through our cars, getting into our bins and it can’t be good for all the children around here. It’s a health hazard. The fly-tipping is getting out of hand too, which doesn’t help the rat issue, it’s just an embarrassing situation for a major city.”
The Unite union said last Wednesday workers would begin indefinite strike action across the city following a row over pay cuts on March 11. Labour-run Birmingham City Council, which brought in a £24 charge for rat control visits last year, previously has admitted missed collections had caused issues.
