UK deploys military planners to tackle Birmingham waste, rat crisis

The UK government on Monday called in military planners to help local officials combat the health crisis of mounting rubbish and rats on the streets of Birmingham as talks remain ongoing to resolve a nearly month-long strike by the city's bin collectors over a pay dispute.

Birmingham City Council had declared a major incident at the end of last month with around 17,000 tonnes of waste uncollected across the city in the West Midlands region of England.

Ministers and local council members have since been focussed on addressing rising concerns of risks to public health and damage to the environment.

"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, a UK government spokesperson said.

"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," the spokesperson said.

The Unite workers' union said a vote by its striking members on a "partial deal" to end their industrial action is planned for later on Monday. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner visited Birmingham last week and urged the union to accept an improved offer on the table.

Members of Unite went out on strike last month due to a long-running dispute over the role of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) being removed. The union says the move will leave around 150 members GBP 8,000 worse off annually.

"Whilst after many weeks there has now been a partial deal on pay protection for a few, it still leaves these workers worrying about how they are going to pay their mortgages and rent payments in a few months' time," said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

The local council disputes the figures, saying far fewer workers will be affected, losing much less than Unite is claiming.

"I will stress again that we have made a fair and reasonable offer that means that no one has to lose any pay at all, with alternative roles offered within the service, or indeed a promotion to work as a driver, said Councillor John Cotton, Leader of Birmingham City Council.

We're determined to reach an agreement but in the meantime, the clear-up continues, he said.

In an update on the mounting rubbish on the streets, Cotton claimed that clean-up crews across the city had collected 11,588 tonnes of waste since last week.

The actions include repurposing between 40 and 60 housing and street cleansing vehicles and deploying multiple so-called grab trucks to clear large rubbish piles each day, prioritising 15 of the most affected hotspot wards in the city.