The government has called military planners to help tackle the mounting piles of rubbish in Birmingham as a month-long strike by the city’s bin workers continues. Amid an «ongoing public health risk» posed by the mounds of waste that have been piling up, military planners will be assigned to provide logistical support for a short period. They will be office-based, and soldiers are not being deployed to collect rubbish. Sky News understands the initiative will only involve three staff from the military.
A government spokesperson said: «The government has already provided a number of staff to support the council with logistics and make sure the response on the ground is swift to address the associated public health risks. In light of the ongoing public health risk, a small number of office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise have been made available to Birmingham City Council to further support in this area.»
Unite members walked out on 11 March in a dispute over pay and jobs, with Birmingham City Council declaring a major incident on 31 March due to public health concerns. On Monday, refuse workers are to vote on a «partial deal» aimed at ending the strike. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner visited the city last week and urged Unite to accept an improved offer. Unite said there will be a ballot held by the close of play on Monday.
Members of Unite went out on strike due to a long-running dispute over the role of waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) being removed. The union says the move will leave around 150 members £8,000 worse off annually.
Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: «This dispute is not about greed or increased pay. This dispute is about workers losing up to £8,000 of their pay – which for some is almost a quarter. Whilst after many weeks there has now been a partial deal on pay protection for a few, it still leaves these workers worrying about how they are going to pay their mortgages and rent payments in a few months’ time.» The council disputes the figures, saying only 17 workers will be affected, losing far less than Unite is claiming. It adds that scrapping the WRCO role is in line with national practice and would improve its waste collection service.
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