MP 'left in the dark' over bin strike negotiations

A Birmingham MP says he has been left in the dark over the progress of negotiations to end the long-running bin strikes in his constituency.

Sir Andrew Mitchell, who represents Sutton Coldfield, urged Birmingham City Council and the Unite union to be more transparent, claiming: "Everything is happening behind closed doors".

The Conservative MP's comments came after Unite, which is representing the refuse workers, broke a near three-week silence on the ongoing talks.

Birmingham City Council has previously thanked people for their patience as it seeks to resolve the issue, and says information for residents is available online.

"My constituents are having to put up with a dreadful service, the sooner this is settled the better," Mitchell told BBC Politics Midlands.

The city council had been granted a court order to stop waste vehicles being blocked from leaving the city's depots, after the authority believed more than 12,000 tonnes of rubbish had been dumped on the streets this week.

The all-out strike began on 11 March, however bin collections in the city have been intermittent since the start of January.

Unite has blamed government-appointed commissioners, who have been overseeing the council's operations since its effective bankruptcy, for the apparent lack of progress.

"We don't really know what is happening.

"We don't know if any meetings have taken place," the Sutton Coldfield MP claimed.

Labour MP for Wolverhampton West, Warinder Juss, responded to Mitchell and insisted the government were taking the dispute "really seriously".

He added that talks were ongoing.

In a statement Birmingham City Council said it was committed to ending the dispute, meanwhile the government urged Unite to suspend the strike action.

Mitchell blamed the council's "appalling industrial relations" for the ongoing dispute and said he hoped the government would consider holding "a judge-led inquiry".

"We need to know how we've got into this terrible position," he added.

Juss told BBC Politics Midlands: "Ultimately we need to think about the ordinary residents who are suffering".

"They've got to be borne in mind," he added.

Green councillor for Worcestershire County Council, Tor Pingree, said: "It's a Labour-led council, it's a Labour-led national government, surely you can work together with the refuse workers to come to some sort of pay deal".

"Birmingham is being buried in rubbish while they all argue," Pingree added.

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