8 godzin temu
Birmingham City Council has declared it has reached the "absolute limit" of what it can offer to resolve a bitter pay dispute that has left rubbish piling up across Britain's second-largest city. Members of Unite union have been on all-out strike since early March, causing widespread disruption to waste collection services.
Council leader John Cotton said the authority had negotiated in good faith but could no longer delay action to address equal pay risks and improve services. The dispute centres on Unite's demands, which the council claims would result in an equal pay bill running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Strike reaches breaking point
Cotton warned that accepting the union's proposals would jeopardise the council's financial recovery and force further cuts to services. He said successive administrations had failed to close off equal pay liabilities, costing Birmingham residents hundreds of millions of pounds over the years.
The council leader emphasised that the waste service "has not been good enough for a long time" and must be improved. He stressed the need to deliver a better service as part of the authority's drive towards financial sustainability.
Voluntary redundancy offered
Birmingham Council will now communicate with staff and trade unions about next steps, including voluntary redundancy options and opportunities for training and redeployment. Cotton said the council had worked hard to end the dispute but could not delay improvements any longer.
The council leader apologised for the disruption caused to residents and thanked them for their patience during the ongoing strike action. He committed to ensuring Birmingham gets the waste service its residents deserve.
Cotton said: "We must be fair to all our staff, and I will not repeat the mistakes of the past by making decisions that would ultimately result in further cuts to services and the sale of more council assets."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
