Nigel Farage has slammed council and government over the disastrous bin strikes gripping Birmingham telling voters ‘it’s what you get’ when you vote Labour. The Reform UK leader claimed there was 17,000 tonnes of uncollected waste on the streets of the UK’s second-biggest city and that it was like a scene from the First World War.
He said: “In Birmingham, if you vote for a Labour council that’s what you get – 17,000 tonnes of rubbish and rats the likes of which have not been seen since the Western Front. I haven’t been to Birmingham, I have a couple of friends who have visited and said it really is awful and it represents a genuine health hazard.
“And I know that 24 hours ago, Army logistics have been called in to Birmingham but I suspect what we actually need are going to be some soldiers pretty damn quickly, and an army of rat catchers and lots of terrier men and things like that to sort this out, but there you go. If you vote Labour at local-government level, that’s what you get.”
Huge protests erupted earlier in Birmingham as the bin strike continues after the union, Unite, rejected an offer from the council. Rubbish has been piling up on the city’s streets, and there have been warnings of a public health emergency as hundreds of workers have been on all-out strike for more than a month. On Monday, the Unite union rejected an offer from the council. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham was asked how likely the bin strikes could spread to other parts of the country.
“Well, if other councils decide to make low-paid workers pay for bad decisions that they did not make, workers paying the price yet again, then absolutely, of course, we all have to take action in those other areas,” she told LBC. The union’s national lead officer Onay Kasab agreed there was potential for industrial action in further areas.
Striking binmen locked out of council building
Striking binmen attempting to deliver a petition calling for an end to “cuts on pay” were locked out the council house today.
The workers were prevented from delivering their message to council leader John Cotton inside Birmingham Council House, as they attempted to tell him to “listen to workers.”
Striking binman David Callaghan, 57, told BirminghamLive: “It’s unfortunate we can’t hand it in peacefully.
“There’s been no trouble, even on the picket lines, there’s been no trouble whatsoever.”
Mr Callaghan said he did not know why the workers were stopped from delivering the message, which was evetually given to reception and forwarded onto Mr Cotton.
He added: “Your guess is as good as mine. It would be interesting to get their point of view.”
‘Bin strikes could spread’
Unite boss Sharon Graham has said that the bin stikes could “absolutely, of course” spread beyond Birmingham if “other councils decide to make low paid workers pay for bad decisions”.
Recap
The bin strikes in Birmingham look set to continue after workers voted overwhelmingly to reject a deal to bring the industrial action to a close yesterday.
The strike has been ongoing since 11 March after workers walked out over the council’s plans to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles, which could see workers in those jobs lose as much as £8,000 per year.
After rejecting the ” totally inadequate” pay deal yesterday, nite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “For weeks, these workers have faced attacks from government and their employer pushing the lie that only a handful of workers are affected by the council’s plans to cut pay by up to £8,000.
“Unite has set out simple and reasonable steps to the council to resolve these issues. It is important to remember that this dispute is not about a pay rise it is about preventing serious pay cuts.
“The government must now call a meeting with the stakeholders to ensure these steps are taken to bring the strike to an end.
“The government must now also urgently consider Unite’s proposal for debt restructure at Birmingham City Council and other local authorities. Workers and communities cannot continue to pay the price.”
Leader of the Unite trade union Sharon Graham labelled the government’s offer “totally inadequate.” (Image: Getty)
Conservatives blame Labour figures within the union
The Conservatives have taken to X to blast Labour politicians who are members of Unite.
They highlight Councillor John Cotton leader of Birmingham City Council who they say is a Unite member as they ask: “When push comes to shove, whose side is he really on?”
They add: “Labour have proven themselves utterly incapable of standing up to their union paymasters.
“They need to stand up to the unions and refuse to take any more of their money until this strike is over. But, of course, they wont.”
Bin worker says heard nothing from council to ‘allay’ fears over more pay cuts
A driver team leader for Birmingham City Council said he has had nothing from his employers to “allay” fears that drivers could be the next to have their pay cut in the dispute with striking refuse workers.
Derek Roberts, from Longbridge, said: “We need to move the narrative away from the fact that it’s only this role that’s being deleted and that nobody else is affected. That’s what’s being pushed.
“We’ve already been told as drivers that we will be next. We’re currently going through an evaluation process ourselves which could potentially lead us to the same-sized pay cuts. We haven’t had anything from our employer to allay those fears.
“That’s what they seem to think, they can divide and conquer and split people into different sections and it’s not affecting you, so you’ll just go back to work, and it’s not like that.
“And now recently, over the last few days to a week, we’ve been told that the drivers are under the same pay threat, something that’s been kept very quiet.”
‘If you vote Labour, this is what you get’ – Nigel Farage slams Labour over bin strikes
Asked about bin strikes in Birmingham, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said “that’s what you get” with Labour-run councils.
He said: “In Birmingham, if you vote for a Labour council that’s what you get – 17,000 tonnes of rubbish and rats the likes of which have not been seen since the Western Front.
“I haven’t been to Birmingham, I have a couple of friends who have visited and said it really is awful and it represents a genuine health hazard.
“And I know that 24 hours ago, Army logistics have been called in to Birmingham but I suspect what we actually need are going to be some soldiers pretty damn quickly, and an army of rat catchers and lots of terrier men and things like that to sort this out, but there you go.
“If you vote Labour at local-government level, that’s what you get.”
Fears bin workers could be at risk from disease breeding in piles of trash
Infectious disease specialist Dr Elizabeth Sherida has warned the combination of building waste and warm weather conditions might heighten the danger of contracting the potentially fatal Leptospirosis (Weil’s disease).
Speaking to The Telegraph, she said: “There’s a risk related to rat exposure, like Weil’s disease, which comes from rat urine. That’s the one thing I would be worried about.
“Most people don’t know they have been exposed to rat urine. You are at risk if you handle things that rats have been running over and that gets into your system.
“For example, if you were handling bin bags and it got into your eyes or you put your hands in your mouth. If anyone is handling stuff where rats may have been, they should wear gloves and wash their hands.”
Interactive map shows where in the UK could be hardest hit by bin chaos
Negotiations are set to continue between unions and striking workers tomorrow (Wednesday), but there have been warnings the rubbish mountain madness could spread to other cities.
As posted earlier in this blog, Express.co.uk have compiled an interactive map that shows the most populated areas which could suffer the most from more bin strikes if they expand from Birmingham.
A Flourish map
Woman says her cat is scared of the rats because they are so ‘huge’
Jyoti Rathod, 42, from Balsall Heath, in Birmingham, said the strikes had been “horrendous” but the area today was “clean compared to the past few weeks”.
She said: “I think everyone was hoping they (the council and refuse workers) would come to a solution, because it’s not fair on the residents now. Because we work I don’t get time to go to the centre to drop off the rubbish.
“We’ve seen a couple of dead rats and they are quite huge. Really, really, really huge rats. But the stench last week was horrible. It’s frustrating.
“I have got a cat so I’m like, I’m going to send my cat out, but I think my cat is going to be scared of the rats because of the size. It’s not nice.”
NHS advice on potentially disease spread by rats
With food waste rotting in the streets, the bin strikes in Birmingham are providing a perfect breeding ground for pests and vermin.
The NHS says Leptospirosis (or Weil’s disease) is common infection spread by mice and rats through contact with their urine.
Symptoms of leptospirosis
Most people who get leptospirosis have no symptoms, or mild flu-like symptoms. But some people get seriously ill.
Symptoms of leptospirosis may include:
high temperature
headache
body aches and pain
tummy ache
feeling sick or being sick
diarrhoea
redness in the white part of your eyes
yellowing of the skin (which may be harder to see on black or brown skin) or white part of the eyes (jaundice)
Non-urgent advice, see a GP if:
You might have been exposed to infected pee, water, or soil and have:
a high temperature, or you feel hot and shivery
a headache
been feeling sick or being sick
diarrhoea
body aches and pains
red eyes
a loss of appetite
Urgent advice. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have:
yellow skin (which may be harder to see on black or brown skin) and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
a rash
been unable to pee
swollen ankles, feet or hands
chest pain
shortness of breath
You can call 111 or get help from NHS 111 online.
For more information visit the NHS website on this link.
Rats and mice can spread disease through their urine (Image: Getty)
More strike talks planned
It’s been revealed the Unite union and council and government officials are due to resume talks tomorrow to break the deadlock in a dispute with refuse workers in Birmingham.
Rubbish piles in Birmingham (Image: SWNS )
Man says rampant rats eat his car chewing through wires
A Birmingham resident whose car was destroyed by rats in a street where piles of rubbish were “as tall as” him is “disappointed” that bin workers have rejected the deal to end the long-running strike.
Rats have been seen scurrying around mounting piles of rubbish, food waste and bin bags outside homes, shops and restaurants in the city since hundreds of refuse workers went on strike last month.
Adam Yasin, 33, from the Balsall Heath area of the city, said his Mercedes was “completely written off” just weeks ago because rats had chewed through wires in the engine.
He said: “Because of that certain wiring, the car wouldn’t start. They said they need to rewire the whole car but the insurance company said it was too expensive.
“It has been really bad, especially where I live, there are a lot of restaurants there. I swear there was a pile (of rubbish) as tall as me, I kid you not.
“Today they collected the rubbish that was on the floor, so the bags that were on the floor, but the bins are still left.”
Mr Yasin said it has been a “nightmare” to get rid of his own rubbish but he could not get to a mobile rubbish collection site opened by Birmingham City Council because his car was damaged.
Minister urges strikers to accept deal and get Birmingham ‘back to normal’
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones has urged Unite to accept the “good offer” on the table so Birmingham can “get back to normal”.
“So our message loud and clear is Unite need to call off the strike, accept the deal, and let’s get back to normal, which is what people expect and what people deserve,” she told BBC Breakfast.
She said strikes are “always a last resort” when asked if she thought they could spread.
“One of the first things we did when we got into Government back in July was to negotiate deals with trade unions where years of under-investment, years of underpay, had led to all kinds of problems and strikes that were costing everybody in the NHS, costing huge amounts of money.
“So nobody wants to see strikes, they’re always a last resort.”
Ms Jones called for the strikes to end (Image: PA )
New pictures show rubbish mountains still growing in Birmingham
Latest images from the besieged streets of Britain’s second-biggest city show mountains of un-collected rubbish still growing.
The four-month-long dispute between refuse workers and the council is showing no sign of stopping and the government have been forced to ask the British Army for help.
Bin bags today in Birmingham (Image: SWNS )
Bin bags today in Birmingham (Image: SWNS )
Check out our interactive map of where bin strikes could hit hardest
An interactive map from Express.co.uk shows where the most densely populated areas are in the country.
If bin strikes did break out from Birmingham these towns and cities could be hardest hit by mounting piles of rubbish.
A Flourish map‘Potential’ for strikes to spread across UK – Union boss
Onay Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, said there is the “potential” for strike action in other parts of the country if local authorities cut the pay of public service workers.
Mr Kasab was asked on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 if the strike action in Birmingham could spread to other parts of the country.
He said: “Well, if other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading.
“That’s why different political choices need to be made.”
Mr Kasab added: “It’s not about doing things more efficiently, I don’t think cutting the pay of public service workers is doing things more efficiently.
“If the pay of public service workers is attacked in other local authorities, then we shouldn’t be surprised when people take action.”
Onay Kasab said strikes could spread (Image: PA )
Good morning and welcome to our live BLOG on the bin strikes
Good morning and welcome to our LIVE on the bin strikes threatening the nation.
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