Solidarity success

The long running Birmingham bins dispute, concerning ‘secret payments’ and the ‘blacklisting’ of workers has ended after Birmingham City Council today (Friday March 15) approved the detailed legal agreement that has ended the dispute.

As part of the agreement between the council and Unite all Unite members who were balloted for industrial action in 2017 will receive £3,500; all workers who claimed they were blacklisted by having holiday request refused during the current dispute will receive £500; Unite’s High Court case concerning the council’s breach of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) which ended the 2017 dispute, will be terminated.

The agreement also means the council will cease utilising mop up crews without a qualified waste reduction collections officer on board; the council is committed to holding a recruitment day so that agency staff can apply for permanent positions; and all other outstanding legal issues have been resolved.

Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said, “Unite is pleased that it has been able to reach agreement with the council to finally bring an end to this lengthy dispute.

“By standing together our members have secured an excellent settlement and ended the injustice that they had been subject to. Their success demonstrates what can be achieved when workers are united.”

Beckett added, “Unite has been consistent from the beginning of the dispute that our members were simply seeking parity, with the payments that workers who did not take part in the 2017 dispute, subsequently received. Once that principle was understood the dispute could be resolved.

“Unite is firmly committed to developing strong industrial relations with Birmingham council in the future and hopes that the recent industrial disputes can be put behind us,” he concluded.