11 godzin temu
A Labour-affiliated trade union has issued a strongly-worded plea for the Government to intervene in the long-running Birmingham bin strike. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner to step in to deliver a "decent settlement" to the bitter row over pay.
Members of Unite have been on all-out strike since March, leading to bags of rubbish piling up across the city's streets. The dispute centres on planned pay cuts which Unite says would lead to workers losing £8,000 a year.
Government urged to halt pay cuts
FBU general secretary Steve Wright said the Labour Government must use its power and influence to insist that Birmingham Council halts the planned pay cuts. The firefighters' leader warned that unions affiliated to Labour like the FBU would not tolerate a "betrayal" of the bin workers.
Wright referenced a series of high-profile disputes in the late 1990s including the Liverpool dockers, Magnet kitchen strikers in Darlington, and Hillingdon hospital workers. He claimed Tony Blair's Labour government failed to intervene in these cases.
Workers face dire poverty
"The treatment of the bin workers has been outrageous," Wright said. "It's a disgrace that a Labour-led council forced these dedicated public servants to go on strike by attempting to cut their pay by thousands of pounds."
He added: "The Prime Minister and his deputy cannot stand by any longer and allow this attack on the jobs and wages of these workers who have lost their family incomes and faced dire poverty for many months." Wright insisted that Starmer and Rayner could easily resolve the dispute by demanding Birmingham Council halt the pay cuts and compensate workers for lost earnings.
Union suspends deputy PM's membership
"Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner could easily resolve this dispute by insisting that Birmingham Council halts the planned pay cuts and compensates the bin workers for all lost earnings," Wright said. "The leadership of the Labour Government has the power to do this, and there must be no excuses."
Wright warned: "Unions affiliated to Labour like the FBU that help fund the party's election campaigns will not tolerate a repeat of this betrayal of striking workers." Unite has suspended Rayner's membership of the union and is re-examining its relationship with Labour as a result of the dispute.
Council defends service improvements
The council insists its move is aimed at improving the waste and recycling service. Birmingham Council has said that affected workers have been offered other jobs.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "The Government has been working intensively with the council to tackle the backlog and clean up the streets in the interests of Birmingham residents and public health. The Government remains committed to supporting Birmingham's long-term transformation, for the benefit of local residents, and to a sustainable resolution of the equal pay issues which have been left unresolved for far too long."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
