At least 26,000 tonnes of rubbish have been removed from Birmingham’s streets, a minister said as he claimed “significant progress” is being made to help the city.
Communities minister Jim McMahon added “regular bin collections have resumed” before renewing calls for Unite to call off the strikes and accept the “fair deal” on the table.
Hundreds of bin workers have been on all-out strike for more than a month in a dispute over pay and jobs, leading to rubbish piling up in the streets.
Logistics advisers from the military have provided help and the Conservatives pressed Mr McMahon to “rule out the humiliation of service personnel ever having to collect refuse”.
Responding to an urgent question from the Tories, Mr McMahon told the Commons: “We’ve been providing intensive support to the council in its efforts to address the backlog of waste that has been building up on the city’s streets and significant progress has been made in the last fortnight.
“Through a concerted effort, and with the assistance of other councils, private operators and the endeavour of many hundreds of determined workers who have worked extremely long hours, the resulting 26,000 tonnes of excess waste have been removed and the levels are now approaching normal.
“More than 100 bin trucks are out every day and regular bin collections have resumed. The council continues to monitor the situation closely to ensure that waste does not build up again.”
Shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake accused Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner of “failing to stand up to the unions, failing to protect the residents of the UK’s second city”.
He added: “Failing to protect the reputation of our nation and now resorting to being bailed out by our brave armed forces.”
Mr Hollinrake described the situation as a “national embarrassment” before claiming the Government risked a return to the Winter of Discontent in the 1970s.
He said: “It’s clear with this Government that we risk going back to those days.”
Mr McMahon said the three logistics advisers provided by the Ministry of Defence “have made a difference”, adding: “They themselves said that Birmingham is more than capable of making sure that the rounds are collected and the trucks are on the road as of this week.
“I need to pull him up on a comment he made – when he talks about the humiliation of collecting waste from the streets. The ‘humiliation’ of decent working-class people going out to provide a public service to millions of people across England is not a humiliation, it’s a public service, it’s one that is critical to our nation’s interests.
“To say it’s a job of humiliation, I would say that working-class people, the bin collectors across this country take pride in their work and they deserve more respect than the bloody Opposition.”
Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell called on ministers to “convene the meetings” between Birmingham City Council and union officials in order to “secure progress” in the negotiations over the bin strike.
In response, Mr McMahon said: “The Government is not the employer of the workforce in Birmingham, the council is the employer of the workforce in Birmingham, and it’s for the employer and the employees to reach an agreement that both can can accept.
“Of course, we urge both parties to negotiate in good faith. We believe that the deal on the table is a good deal.”
