Striking bin workers block depot lorries again

Bin lorries have been blocked from leaving a waste depot by striking refuse workers in Birmingham as the city's bin strike continues.

Gates at the Atlas Depot, Tyseley, were relocked just after 06:30 BST on Thursday with crews seen leaving their vehicles.

Striking workers restarted their tactics of delaying trucks as they left depots on Tuesday, stepping aside only when police intervened.

Birmingham City Council said the delays would affect the amount of collections it was able to make on Thursday.

In a statement, a council spokesperson said actions by picket lines at two of its depots on Thursday morning meant "very few" of its waste lorries left the sites.

"People have the right to strike but those that want to work should be allowed to do so," they added.

"We will continue to look at all options to ensure we can get trucks out and keep the streets clean."

On X, the council wrote: "Due to industrial action by Unite the Union at Lifford (Kings Norton) and Atlas (Tyseley) depots, some collections may be disrupted today in the south, central and east of the city.

"Please leave your bins out and we will collect them as soon as possible."

The BBC has contacted Unite for a response.

Delayed collections during the initial weeks of the strike were partly due to picket lines blocking trucks from leaving waste sites.

In March, workers protesting at the Tyseley depot insisted they were only stopping lorries leaving if they had safety concerns about the trucks.

Previously, police officers at the site stopped strikers' obstruction tactics by threatening arrest and fines.

West Midlands Police told the BBC in April it had not yet issued fines, due to bin workers on the picket line co-operating.

In a statement about Thursday's action, a force spokesperson said there continued to be a police presence at the waste depots.

Previously delays led to thousands of tonnes of rubbish piling up on the streets of the city, leading to concerns for public health and the environment.

Refuse workers belonging to Unite began an all-out strike 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.

The strike, now entering its 10th week, saw hundreds of union members join a "megapicket" at the Lifford Lane depot on Friday, in solidarity with the city's refuse workers.

The council spokesperson said the authority must make changes to comply with equal pay laws and they were committed to finding a fair and sustainable deal.

They recently said "negotiations are continuing" and previously told the BBC its job evaluation process was "fair and transparent".

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