Army experts called in over Birmingham bin strike as piles of rubbish grow

Army specialists were called in to help the increasing stacks of garbage in the streets of Birmingham tackle amid a month-long bin strike.

The overall strike by garbage workers – which started on March 11 as part of a dispute over the payment – saw that thousands of tons of garbage in the city were not set.

The City Council declared a major incident on March 31, citing public health, because residents say they saw rats the size of cats crawling through the streets in the daylight and complaining of an overwhelming stench while black bags showered on the street.

The deteriorating situation has now led the government to call in the army to tackle the crisis.

There are a small number of office -based planners assigned to provide temporary logistical support to the council – rather than deploying soldiers to collect garbage.

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

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

“It builds on a variety of measures we have supported so far – including neighboring authorities that offer extra vehicles and crews, and household waste centers opened to Birmingham residents.”

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner asked members of the Unite Union to accept an ‘improved’ agreement, while West Streeting, health secretary, said the strike had “an pull -out from hand”.

But the dispute further tense the relationship between labor and association, with the general secretary of the trade union, Sharon Graham, against “the ongoing attacks and information sessions against these low-paid bin workers”.

She said: “It is important to repeat the truth, as opposed to the lies that are in an attempt to deduce.

“This dispute is not about greed or increased payment. This dispute is about workers who lose up to £ 8,000 of their payment – which is almost a quarter for some.”

The council says only 17 workers will be affected, and they will lose much less than Unite claimed.

Ms Graham added that a partial payment protection agreement for some workers had already been agreed and requested the council to accept a larger offer that the union had presented.

A further vote on an agreement to end the strike is expected to take place on Monday.

It’s a break story, more to follow …