An end the Birmingham bin strikes “could be in touching distance”, union officials have said, while a conciliation service is brought in to help broker a deal.
Unite union members have been striking for seven weeks amid a dispute with the local council centred on pay and job security.
Local residents have now been offered a glimmer of hope after facing mounting piles of rubbish on their streets for more than a month.
After a 45-minute meeting between officials from Unite and Birmingham City Council on Wednesday ended without agreement, the independent public body and conciliation service Acas will now be involved in negotiations.
After the meeting, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said a deal “could be in touching distance” if the council stops “flip-flopping”.
“We could be in touching distance of a deal but Birmingham City Council is again guilty of saying one thing in public and another in the negotiations,” Ms Graham added.
“This flip-flopping needs to be sorted prior to the Acas negotiations next week, so the dispute can be resolved and end the uncertainty for workers and the misery for Birmingham residents.
“The threats of savage pay cuts must also now cease for drivers. Unite has put forward workable proposals. The ball is now in the council’s court.
“Unite is proud to defend our members and we put other councils on notice that if they try to cut debt by attacking workers’ pay, these strikes will spread.”
A Birmingham council spokesperson said: “Negotiations are ongoing and are positive. There has been agreement that there will be further discussions at the end of next week under the auspices of Acas.”
Unite said it has put forward a series of proposals it believes will resolve the dispute, in line with Birmingham council leader John Cotton’s media promise that there is no need for any workers to lose pay.
A union statement said: “The council has also failed yet again today to confirm whether it intends to cut the pay of hundreds of bin drivers by up to £8,000.
“The council had previously committed to giving this information before Easter. Now the promise is to supply this information early next week prior to the Acas negotiations.”
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