With no end in sight to the ongoing Birmingham bin strike, the city council’s leader has been put on the spot over the “rats of extraordinary size” which residents claim are infesting the streets of the UK’s second city. And Labour’s John Cotton, the leader of Birmingham council, admitted the current situation is “unacceptable” and the rats are “causing real problems for residents”.
Tonnes of rubbish have been piling up in the street after hundreds of workers walked out indefinitely in protest against the authority's plans to scrap the role of waste recycling collection officer (WRCO). Residents have reported seeing "cat-sized" rats near their homes. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, presenter Johnny Diamond said: “We heard one of your residents talking about rats of extraordinary size.
"Now, as a result of the rubbish that's piling up on the streets, it is the worst possible advertisement for your city.
"If you were thinking of, say, setting up a business or moving a business, the last place you'd think of is going to a rat-infested Birmingham.”
Mr Cotton replied: "The scenes that we've seen on the streets are unacceptable. They've caused real problems for residents, and obviously, they do not reflect well on this city.
“But what they don't tell is the entirety of the story of Birmingham, a place that is attracting record levels of investment, has huge jobs and growth opportunities as well.
"And that's really what I want us to get back to talking about, which is why I'm so focused on ensuring we bring this dispute to a close."
He went on to explain what the authority is doing to tackle the crisis.
The leader said: "However, as you pointed out, in the meantime, having set up a major incident to address the accumulation of waste on the streets we've now collected almost 18,000 tons of waste.
"We've had crews out every day clearing around 1,500 tons of waste. So we are absolutely focused on ensuring that that accumulation of waste is cleared, and we've taken the robust steps to ensure that's happening.”
On Monday, Unite members rejected the council's latest offer by 97% on 60% turnout, with Unite saying the proposal did not address potential pay cuts for 200 drivers and was "totally inadequate".
The union said if guarantees that no worker needs to lose money could be put into writing as part of a new offer, a deal would be "much closer", but they fear that alternative job roles of the same grade being offered to affected workers could be downgraded in the coming months.
Mr Cotton said: “It's incredibly disappointing that despite several weeks of extensive negotiations, Unite has rejected a second very fair and reasonable offer.
"That offer remains on the table, and obviously, talks continue today and we want to find a negotiated solution to this.
“But what we cannot do is take steps that result in us creating further equal pay problems for the council or indeed prejudice in our budget position, and also the service fundamentally needs reform.
"We know that the waste services haven't been delivering for parts of the city well enough for long enough, and that's something that we need to change.”
Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said: "If the council puts in writing what it says in public then we would likely be much closer to a deal.
"If John Cotton is being honest that no worker needs to lose income, the deal put forward by Unite should be accepted. Three very simple solutions focused on WRCOs and drivers not being forced to take £8,000 pay cuts.
"How can anyone be asked to lose a quarter of pay? These workers have mortgages, rent and food bills to pay. I see councillors' expenses and council tax all go up, while wages and community services go down.
"I stand ready to meet John Cotton and indeed Angela Rayner anytime over Easter. Rather than walking through rubbish with high vizzes on, let's get this issue dealt with for workers and the community of Birmingham."
