Major incident’ declared in Birmingham as 17,000 TONNES of rubbish left strewn across streets after bin strike chaos
A MAJOR incident has been declared in Birmingham as 17,000 tonnes of rubbish have been left strewn across street.
Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident over the bin strike and said that picket lines blocking its depots are preventing waste vehicles from collecting rubbish.
This comes as members of the Unite union in Birmingham have been 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.
It will also allow the council to explore what further support is available from neighbouring authorities and the Government, to help manage the situation, and work with partners to better manage health and fire risks that the build-up of rubbish is causing.
A focus of the major incident will be on making sure bin lorries can safely enter and exit the council’s waste depots.
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.”
About 200 waste collection vehicles are usually deployed over eight-hour daily shifts, with their contingency plan during the strike allowing for 90, but the local authority says the blocking of depots by picket lines has delayed getting them out on to the streets.
Normally, the council’s waste teams would make more than half a million collections a week, with its strike contingency allowing for 360,000, but the “blockade” of depots means crews are managing “far below this”.
In a statement, the council said the daily rate of accumulation of uncollected waste in the city has increased from 483 tonnes per day in the week of March 10, and 655 tonnes per day in the week of March 17, to almost 900 tonnes per day in the week of March 24.
So far, talks between Unite the union and council officials have not been successful. Their last meeting was held on Thursday.
Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport at the city council, said last week that the authority was willing to work around the clock to resolve the dispute, having already made a “fair and reasonable” offer to affected workers.
Mr Cotton added: “I want to thank residents for their continued patience under difficult circumstances and the community groups who have been working hard within their communities to help with clear-up.
“I would reiterate that we have made a fair and reasonable offer to our workers which means none of them have to lose any money and I would urge Unite to reconsider their position.”
Earlier this month, rats the size of cats were reported in the area, as residents complained you can’t turn a corner without tripping over heaps of waste.
Huge rats plaguing rubbish-riddled Birmingham amidst the bin worker’s strike have been terrifying locals as the industrial action, which started early this year, continues.
The clash between waste collector’s union Unite and Birmingham City Council over the scrapping of a “safety-critical role” and pay cuts has led to indefinite strikes.
Overflowing bins have caused utter carnage, with chaos set to “worsen”, taxi drivers are warning.
As residents, workers and shoppers have been desperately trying to avoid the vermin-hit streets, cabbie Abid Hussain said: “The garbage is piling up, the vermin are coming out. It is disgusting!
“The city is filthy, it stinks. It is a health issue and the situation will only get worse.”
The driver of 32 years slammed authorities for allowing Britain’s second biggest city to “go to the rats.”
Abid, speaking exclusively to The Sun, sighed: “It should never have come to this. People are terrified to come out.
“No one wants to see rats scurrying around all the un-emptied bins and the rubbish dumped in streets, alleyways and gardens.
“It is a terrible advert for the city where I have worked for more than three decades. I am a barometer for Birmingham and this is the worst it gets.”
Abid spoke out as the cash-strapped Labour City Council is battling with bin workers to end their series of strikes over a pay dispute and conditions.
Rodents likened to be “the size of cats” have been sighted by residents scurrying around vast piles of garbage that have built up since the start of the year.
Nearly 400 bin workers in the busy West Midlands city have been striking intermittently since January in the escalating row between bin collectors and the council.