Calls for police to maintain bin strike presence
BBCCalls have been made for the police to maintain their presence at Birmingham bin strike picket lines as collections continued to be affected.
Roger Harmer, Lib Dem leader on the city council, urged police not to wait until the city reached crisis point before stepping in.
His comments came after the number of officers sent to police the picket lines were cut and amid reports of bin lorries being blocked by striking workers at depots.
On Monday lorries were seen driving up to depot gates in Tyseley but parking up inside as striking workers stood outside. West Midlands Police said it would continue to assess the situation and ensure its presence is in line with its core policing responsibilities.
Harmer urged West Midlands Police to have a "consistent presence" at picket lines and not to wait "until the city reaches crisis point again".
"Human-height mounds of black bags" became commonplace in the city and Harmer described it as "a national embarrassment and terrible for the city's reputation".
"The police have powers to stop strikers from obstructing working crews – they should not wait for the city to reach crisis point again before acting," he added.
'Getting smelly'
However some people in the city said a crisis point had already been reached for them.
Judith Whalley told BBC Radio WM that the strike was starting to affect her ability to leave her home in Hockley.
"As it's not been collected, people are just putting more rubbish and more rubbish out," she said.
"Once again, I'm about to be trapped because it's spreading across the pavement but I can't get down the pavement on my mobility scooter.
"With the weather the way it is, [it is] really getting smelly."
However, Ms Whalley said she sympathised with those on strike: "Nobody could afford to lose that sort of money."
Lorraine Boyce, from West Heath, said her hallway was full of recycling but some people had stopped separating it.
"Probably they've got sheds or halls, full of recycling," she said.
"They've started putting that in bags so a lot more black bags have appeared.
"It's very, very depressing."
Police patrols had previously helped secure the smooth exit of trucks from depots in recent weeks by using powers under Section 14 of the Public Order Act, a law used around public gatherings.
But a force spokesperson confirmed those powers were no longer in place as the issue "does not currently meet the threshold".
It came after waste collections were disrupted on Thursday when bin lorries were blocked from leaving two depots by striking refuse workers, leading to reports of rubbish piling up in parts of the city again.
Police were parked nearby and were seen getting out of their patrol cars but they remained a distance away.
The council said it was not safe for their trucks to leave the depot due to the police no longer using their Section 14 powers.
"The gates had been locked for safety reasons, and we had already attempted to get lorries out of the depot. The gates were reopened at 8 am," it said.
Union Unite, which organised the strike, has been approached for a comment on Monday's picket lines.
The all-out strike began on 11 March in a dispute with the council over plans to downgrade the roles of drivers, which the union said would see pay cuts of up to £8,000.
This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.
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