Birmingham bin strike deepens as council walks away from talks

National World - LocalTV

Negotiations have collapsed in Birmingham’s ongoing bin strike. With talks off, rubbish piling up, and public health risks rising, the dispute now threatens both city services and political stability.

Transcript

00:00The strike is still on and now the council's walked away.

00:05After months of talks, Birmingham City Council says it's done negotiating with Unite.

00:11Officials claim they've hit the limit on money, on offers, on patients.

00:14The union sees it differently.

00:17Unite calls it betrayal.

00:19They say the council never truly engaged,

00:21that proper talks were replaced by press statements

00:24and that bin workers are being forced into worse contracts

00:27or out the door altogether.

00:30At the heart of this dispute is the council's decision

00:33to axe a specific bin worker role.

00:36Unite says around 170 workers could lose up to a grand a year.

00:40The council insists it's just 17,

00:43all of whom were offered new roles for voluntary exit.

00:46But that doesn't resolve the core clash,

00:48a fundamental disagreement over what's fair and who decides.

00:52Birmingham streets are now a battleground.

00:55In small heath and Selly Oak, rubbish piles are swarming with flies and rats.

00:59Doctors are warning of health risks.

01:01GPs are disinfecting surgeries.

01:04Pest control firms are overwhelmed.

01:06Families say vermin are getting into homes.

01:09Some workers are wearing masks just to take their bins out.

01:13The council turned to agency workers.

01:15Police are now escorting bin lorries.

01:17High court orders that restrict pickets.

01:20Unite's still striking but under heavy legal pressure.

01:23And behind it all, Ace City, still reeling from its financial collapse.

01:28Libra's leadership here is under fire.

01:30Not just from unions, but from angry residents and nervous councillors.

01:34The strike's no longer just about bins.

01:37It's about trust in power.

01:38About what happens when Ace City goes broke.

01:41And who ends up paying the price.

01:43And who ends up paying the price.

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