Latest council position on industrial action by Unite
Council leader Cllr John Cotton today met local government minister Jim McMahon and updated him on the bin strike and clean up.
Cllr John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council said:
“Our door remains open for further talks. However, to make progress Unite must accept reality. We will not be able to make progress until Unite accepts that the WRCO role cannot be brought back, and that the council cannot and will not entertain anything that would re-open an equal pay liability.
“That wouldn’t be fair for residents or workers and is a red line for Birmingham City Council. We are open to good faith negotiations on the basis of the fair and reasonable offer on the table.
“In the meantime, we are making good progress in clearing up the backlog of waste.”
Background -
Information on WRCO role –
The WRCO role, which Unite is fighting to keep, came about as a result of a previous bin strike. No other council has this role, and if the council gave in, then we would risk creating a huge future equal pay liability.
More than 50 councils around the country operate with a system of one driver and two loaders. Regarding health and safety, the whole team is accountable for working in a safe and responsible way. None of the roles either past or present make any specific reference to there being a lead person responsible for health and safety.
Driver role –
As Unite are aware, we are currently undertaking a fair and transparent job evaluation process of the driver/team leader role, working with all trade union partners to ensure a fair outcome.
It’s important to stress that roles are evaluated using the nationally recognised Gauge Job Evaluation methodology - as agreed with our trade unions.