Overview

• On July 9, Birmingham City Council halted Acas-mediated talks on the bins dispute and notified around 130 waste crew staff of formal redundancy consultations.
• Council leader John Cotton said the authority had reached the “absolute limit” of its pay offer and must cap potential multi-million-pound equal pay liabilities.
• Unite general secretary Sharon Graham criticised the move as a “fire and rehire” tactic and warned that the strike mandate is set to run into winter.
• Bin crews have maintained an indefinite strike since March under a mandate extending through December in protest against role cuts and pay downgrades.
• Separately, GMB has opened a consultative ballot of about 3,000 Birmingham school workers frustrated by slow progress on equal pay settlements.