Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident over the ongoing bin strike and said that picket lines blocking its depots are preventing waste vehicles from collecting rubbish.
A backlog of a staggering 17,000 tonnes of waste remains uncollected across the city, after months of strikes from council waste workers.
SIGN OUR PETITION: CALLING FOR HARSHER PUNISHMENT FOR THOSE THAT TRASH OUR COUNTRY
Strikes throughout the West Midlands city began back in January, with workers protesting against pay cuts on set isolated days.
However, on March 11, almost 400 workers walked out indefinitely and have not returned since.
Sign our petition to stop the litter blight across our United Kingdom
The local authority said that it has a contingency plan where they collect rubbish from all properties across the cities in the case of industrial action.
However, the blocking of its depots by pickets has prevented them from doing so.
This has resulted in workers being able to access their vehicles in order to collect waste from residents.
By declaring a major incident, the council has given themselves leeway to bring in more help from outside agencies to collect rubbish.
An additional 35 vehicles and crews are set to be dispatched around the city.
The declaration will also allow the council to explore what further support is available from neighbouring authorities and the Government to assist in the management of the crisis.
STOP TRASHING BRITAIN:
- Woman left stranded after 'rats size of cats' gnaw through car's wiring amid Birmingham bin strike
- Labour urged to call Cobra meeting as Birmingham bin strike crisis grows - 'Locals are suffering!'
- REVEALED: Devastating cost of Birmingham’s street cleanup laid bare amid bin collection strike chaos
Sign our petition now to call on the Government to introduce a minimum fine of £1,000 for littering or fly-tipping and to enforce mandatory jail sentences of at least three months upon a third conviction. - SIGN HERE
Do you have a story about litter you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "It is 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.
"I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful and sadly the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city and it's environment.
He continued: “Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service’s contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets or improve the frequency of collections.
“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.”
Communities minister Jim McMahon has said the Government supports the decision by Birmingham City Council to declare a major incident to address the impact of the ongoing bin strike.
McMahon told the House of Commons: “The current industrial action in the city is causing misery and disruption to local people, and I know that MPs whose constituencies are affected will be acutely aware of the disruption.
“From the outset I want to be clear that the statutory intervention is led by commissioners and ministers cannot legally intervene in this industrial action.
“However, I have been in regular contact with the leadership of the council throughout as they have sought to find a resolution which means the reforms needed to build a sustainable council and which returns a waste collection service to being normally functioning in the way MPs would expect.
“This is causing a public health risk to the city’s most vulnerable and deprived residents.
“As a result, I’m aware that Birmingham has today declared a major incident to give them the mechanisms to better manage the impact on local residents and I support that decision, and I will back local leaders to bring this situation under control in the weeks to come.”
Waste collection experts at Divert have now revealed the cost of the cleanup operation, currently standing at a whopping £129.65million.
Residents' fury - inflamed by gangs of roaming rodents and streets of overflowing bins - has plagued the area for weeks after the city's Labour-run council hit a wall in negotiations with the city's refuse collectors' unions.
Just hours ago, a woman was left stranded after rats "the size of cats" gnawed through her car's wiring to feast upon food inside the vehicle, as well as the rest of the wiring inside the car.
As a result, the car was in no state to be driven, leading her to call up her brother to pay for the wiring to be amended - costing £300.
Sign our petition to stop the litter blight across our United Kingdom
Find Out More...