Rising tension and claims of intimidation as third day of ‘indefinite’ all out strike ends with no deal
A council bins depot worker was struck by an object thrown during escalating tension on the picket line as a third day of indefinite strike action comes to a close.
There is no deal imminent between the union Unite and Birmingham City Council, who have urged calm amid fresh claims of intimidation between pickets and working staff.
The worker was hit while at the Atlas depot in Kings Road, Tyseley, confirmed the council.
But Unite have strongly disputed the accuracy of the council claims, accusing the authority of ‘scapegoating’ workers peacefully demonsrating.
READ MORE: Why Birmingham City Council say ‘nothing left to offer’ to end bins strike
An object thrown had struck him as bin workers from the union Unite picketed at the gates yesterday (Wednesday).
There is no evidence of who threw the missile. He was taken to hospital and subsequently discharged.
The council say the worker has now quit his job in fear of any further intimidation and has refused to give a statement to police to aid their inquiries.
The police said tonight: “We continue to liaise with the city council, and would urge anyone who has been the victim of a crime to get in touch with us so that we can investigate.”
The council said it is the latest and most serious example of tension around the council’s bin depots, where Unite workers are in conflict with the council over its decision to ‘delete’ a senior bin crew role affecting around 170 staff.
The council also claims that bin trucks are being stopped from driving out of depots in the mornings because of the lines of pickets causing further disruption.
In a statement, the council said: “For the past two weeks, these daily disruptions have been blocking our refuse trucks from leaving our depots, which is preventing us from collecting residents’ bins, which is unacceptable.
“We will be informing residents each day which depots our trucks are able to leave so they know which routes bins will be collected.
“We thank the police for their support during this challenging time. It is unfortunate that we need their support and would prefer a situation where this is not the case.
“Everyone has a right to protest and we would urge those involved to remember their responsibilities and show respect to their colleagues.
“We would ask Unite to remind their members it is a criminal offence for people picketing who are using threatening or abusive behaviour to people walking past or crossing the picket line and to comply with requirements for a peaceful picket.”
The council said it will be posting on its social media channels daily to keep residents alert to troublespots affecting collections, identifying depots where trucks were stuck.
This morning (Thursday) the council tweeted: “Due to increased industrial action from Unite, some of our waste trucks from our Atlas (based in Tyseley) depot are being delayed from leaving the site, resulting in even more service disruption for residents.
“Apologies for the current situation; we understand the frustration this is causing.” They urged residents to check out their FAQs here.
Birmingham Live contacted Unite who said picket lines were ‘heavily policed’ and trucks were not leaving the depot due to a lack of staff, not the protests.
A spokesman said: “The council’s claims are an attempt to blame workers on legal and peaceful picket lines for the disruption to services it has caused through its brutal and unnecessary pay cuts.
“The truth is that bin lorries have been leaving depots during the industrial action but there are not enough staff to provide a full service.
“The picket lines are also heavily policed at the council’s insistence so it would be highly unusual for officers not to have responded at the time if an incident such as the one alleged occurred.
“Rather than trying to shamefully scapegoat Birmingham’s refuse workers for its own failings, the council could bring this dispute to an end by halting the massive wage cuts.”