Birmingham bin strike: Council 'backtracking on deal'

Bin workers have launched legal action against Birmingham City Council, claiming it is acting "unlawfully" by breaking the agreement that ended the 2017 dispute.

Unite said the council was sending out refuse trucks without "leading hands", who operate at the back of vehicles.

It said the issue was "at the heart" of the long-standing argument, and that it was seeking a High Court injunction.

Birmingham City Council said it "entirely" rejected Unite's claims.

The three-month dispute in the summer of 2017 was sparked by plans to axe 113 of the supervisory leading hands roles, responsible for safety at the back of refuse vehicles.

The strike ended when the council agreed the staff would remain on their current wages but with new recycling roles.

Howard Beckett, assistant general secretary of Unite, said the council was "seeking to unpick" the 2017 deal.

He said the status of the "safety critical" role had been "cemented in the legally binding agreement" which brought the previous action to an end.

Mr Beckett said the authority's actions were "reprehensible and, we believe, unlawful".

The union said it was seeking the injunction to prevent Birmingham City Council from going back on the agreement, but the authority said the claims were "simply without merit".

In the new dispute, which began in December, up to 300 Unite members have been working to rule over claims the council made payments to GMB members who did not walk out in the previous strike.

There are plans to escalate the action, with weekly two-day walkouts planner later this month.

A council report said striking bin workers had been offered up to £3,000 each to end the dispute and that the mounting rubbish could create a fire risk for tower block residents.

In response to the legal claim, Birmingham City Council said leading hand roles didn't exist and had been replaced by "waste reduction collection officers" in September 2018.

It said bin lorries without "waste reduction collection officers" were staffed by contractors - brought in, it said, due to the industrial action - which "falls outside the remit of the agreement".

The dispute has been listed for a high court hearing on 13 February.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.