MP warns of ‘plague of rats’ as city’s bin bags pile up due to ongoing industrial dispute
Prominent politicians have expressed grave concern and dismay as the chaos caused by the Birmingham bin strike reaches a ‘crisis point’. The industrial action, which escalated yesterday, has resulted in overflowing bins and heaps of rubbish bags littering streets across the city.
The strike, which began in January, was sparked by a disagreement between Birmingham City Council and Unite the union over the elimination of a specific role. As the accumulation of waste continues to mar Birmingham’s neighbourhoods, Edgbaston MP Preet Gill has warned of a “plague of rats and cockroaches” in a letter to the city council.
She urged the authority to act before a public health crisis engulfs Birmingham. “The build-up of domestic waste on Birmingham’s streets has now reached a crisis point,” the Labour MP penned.
“Some roads in the Edgbaston constituency are particularly badly affected where the volume of waste is blocking passage along the pavements. Moreover, residents are reporting that the waste is leading to a plague of rats and cockroaches.”
Preet Gill MP continued: “I now fear that we are on the brink of a public health emergency with the risk of disease spreading, especially as the warmer weather approaches.”
In the letter, addressed to environment cabinet member Councillor Majid Mahmood, Ms Gill acknowledged that the city council is affected by “industrial relations issues”, reports Birmingham Live.
“However, there are statutory duties to protect the public from both environmental and public health perspectives that must take priority in this emergency situation,” she stated.
“Consequently, I am formally requesting you use the relevant statutory powers available to you to ensure that this emergency situation is addressed, ensuring the streets are not running with vermin and the health of the population protected.”
Preet Gill isn’t the only high-profile politician in the area to voice their concerns about the bins strike this week.
Former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street has said today that Birmingham’s image was “in the mud again” owing to the strike, branding the status quo as “deeply depressing”.
“So many did so much to change Brum’s perception, and now that’s all being undone.” He added: “But Brummie believers please don’t lose hope. Our city will bounce back and it’ll need us more than ever.”
Unite called the strike in response to city council’s plans to ditch the waste recycling and collection officer role (WRCO), which they insist is “safety-critical”.
“We have a lot of support [from residents],” Unite regional officer Zoe Mayou claimed while at a demonstration last week, “We are not doing this strike to hold the city to ransom.”
The city council has claimed they’ve put a “fair and reasonable offer” on the table for Unite, with alternatives proposed for the “small number of workers whose wages are impacted ongoing by the changes to the service”.
“Residents of Birmingham want and deserve a better waste collection service and the restructure that Unite is opposing is part of the much-needed transformation of the service,” said a spokesperson for the council.
In an effort to claw back around £150 million in ‘savings’, the council’s latest tough budget, which includes plans for the WRCO role, was approved earlier this month.
This means locals are bracing for a 7.5 per cent increase in council tax, hot on the heels of last year’s 10 per cent hike.
External auditors have recently shed light on a series of blunders and missteps that have exacerbated the council’s financial difficulties, including the equal pay fiasco, subpar budget setting, ineffective service management, demand led pressures, and the botched rollout of a new IT and finance system.
Labour councillors have pointed to the detrimental effects of funding cuts over the past decade or so.
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