Army experts called in over Birmingham bin strike

Military planners have been called in to help tackle mounting piles of rubbish in Birmingham following a month-long strike by refuse workers.

Thousands of tonnes of uncollected rubbish line the city’s streets due to the all-out strike by Unite union members that began on 11 March. The city council has declared a major incident and asked neighbouring authorities to help tackle the crisis.

Now, after a government appeal to the Army, a small number of office-based planners will provide logistical support for a short time. Soldiers are not being deployed to collect rubbish.

Striking workers will vote on a “partial deal” to end the strike on Monday, Unite has said.

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.”

The spokesperson added this built on a range of measures on which it had supported the council, including opening household waste centres.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner urged striking bin workers to accept a new deal to end the dispute.

She said a “significantly improved” offer had been made and the council had “moved significantly to meet the demands of the workers so we can see an end to this dispute”.

However, Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said the deal represented “a partial deal on pay protection for a few” and the striking bin workers were “in the driving seat around what they wish to accept”.

At the end of March, the Labour-run city council declared a major incident, citing an estimated 17,000 tonnes of rubbish across Birmingham over the first four weeks of the strike.