Birmingham bin strike rubbish spirals to ‘same weight as two Eiffel Towers’

The amount of rubbish piling high on the streets of Birmingham now weighs as much as two Eiffel Towers, locals have said.

Robert Alden, leader for the Conservative group at Birmingham City Council, told Metro the refuse has spiralled to 21,000 tonnes in total, roughly double the weight of France’s famous landmark.

The rubbish, which has been accumulating over the past month after members of Unite went on strike over the council’s plans to scrap some bin collection and recycling roles, has led to giant 14-inch rats roaming the streets.

Experts from the army have been called in to help tackle the issue while some residents have now taken matters into their own hands, clearing the streets themselves.

While soldiers will not be deployed to clear the rubbish piles, they will provide logistical support behind the scenes.

Councillor Alden said he was pessimistic about the strike ending soon, telling Metro: ‘A deal to end the strike is further away than ever. You can see rats and rubbish on so many street corners.

‘The council have shown they are incapable of managing large scale projects. The council need to end this strike.’

Earlier today, bin workers voted overwhelmingly to reject an offer from the Council, which could have seen the end of the month-long industrial action.

Unite the Union said the offer was rejected as it did not address potential pay cuts for 200 drivers, and branded it as  ‘totally inadequate’.

The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘For weeks, these workers have faced attacks from government and their employer pushing the lie that only a handful of workers are affected by the council’s plans to cut pay by up to £8,000.

‘Instead of peddling untruths about these low paid workers and focusing on winning a media war, the government should have taken the time to check facts and used its office to bring the council to the table in a meaningful way.

‘The rejection of the offer is no surprise as these workers simply cannot afford to take pay cuts of this magnitude to pay the price for bad decision after bad decision.

‘From the start, the council has constantly moved the goalposts for these workers, prolonging the strikes in the process. First it was equal pay, then it was about improving the waste service, then cost cutting. The list goes on.

‘Unite has set out simple and reasonable steps to the council to resolve these issues. It is important to remember that this dispute is not about a pay rise it is about preventing serious pay cuts.

‘The government must now call a meeting with the stakeholders to ensure these steps are taken to bring the strike to an end.

‘The government must now also urgently consider Unite’s proposal for debt restructure at Birmingham City Council and other local authorities. Workers and communities cannot continue to pay the price.’

During a visit to the city this morning, Metro found a gigantic rat among the piles of rubbish in Small Heath area of the city.

It was around 14 inches long and about 5 inches wide – the size of a small cat.

The massive rodent was too fat to move and had clearly been feasting for days.

William Timms, the owner WJ Pest Solutions, said previously he has seen a 75% increase in callouts and that the ‘problem is only going to get worse.’

Over in Selly Oak, an area of the city popular with students, Jordan Mis said the huge rats are ‘everywhere’.

The 25-year-old, who is in his second year at Birmingham University, told Metro: ‘I’m living in 17 tonnes of rubbish. They’re big and running around all over the place.

‘There are so many rats and so much food for them.

‘Half of the time I’ll walk on the road to avoid the bags on the sidewalk.’

The international student from Canada says even his family back home had heard of the bin strikes.

As for the army being called in, Jordan said he thinks it’s better than nothing.

‘Whatever it takes,’ he said.

Lamin Bajinkabambadinka, 47, was seen collecting rubbish from Harrow Road in a bid to try and fix the problem.

He told Metro: ‘I’m clearing the streets because nobody else is.

‘The mess is piling up. Imagine 4,000 students putting all their daily mess for two weeks because no one is picking it up.

‘It is a horrible situation,’ he added as he faced a rowdy scattered in rubbish.

He had towels, shirts and takeaway boxes in his shopping cart.

Amir Khan, a postman in Small Heath, was doing his daily round right beside a huge pile on Newland Road. 

The postman told Metro: ‘Everywhere you go people are dumping rubbish. It is awful.

‘It’s not just rubbish people are dumping, it’s household stuff.

‘The military are just planning, they won’t clear the rubbish.

‘You can’t get rid of the smell of the rubbish.

‘The workers stroking aren’t going to achieve anything. Union power doesn’t exist anymore.’

Birmingham Council described the rejection by Unite members as ‘disappointing’, adding that the offer was ‘fair and reasonable.’

A Birmingham council spokesperson said: ‘Despite several weeks of extensive negotiations, Unite have rejected a second offer of settlement. However, our door remains open.

‘The council must deliver improved waste services for our citizens – who simply deserve better.

‘We must also guard against future equal pay claims, and while we have sought throughout the negotiations to protect pay for individuals, Unite’s proposals focus solely on retaining a role that does not exist in other councils and represents an equal pay risk for Birmingham.

‘We have made a fair and reasonable offer and every employee affected by the removal of the WRCO role could take an equivalent graded role in the council, LGV driver training or voluntary redundancy packages.’

Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said the result of today’s vote would be ‘deeply disappointing for Birmingham residents’.

He added: ‘The huge effort to clear the backlog has already seen over 11,000 tonnes of waste collected, and will now continue at pace to protect public health while the dispute remains ongoing.

‘There is a fair and reasonable offer on the table and I would urge Unite to end the strikes and return to talks to reach the resolution that is fair to the workers and residents of the city.’

A government spokesperson said: ‘The government has already provided a number of staff to support the council with logistics and make sure the response on the ground is swift to address the associated public health risks.

‘In light of the ongoing public health risk, a small number of office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise have been made available to Birmingham City Council to further support in this area.’

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