Deputy Prime Minister Lucy Powell has said an agreement to end Birmingham's bin strikes is "imminent", while apologising to taxpayers who endured filthy streets during the 18-month industrial action.
Speaking to BBC WM on the International Day of Birmingham, Ms Powell, who also serves as Education Secretary, said the deal was "on the table" and that a broad agreement had been reached. However, she admitted she was unsure precisely when the dispute would finally conclude.
Her comments follow Birmingham City Council leader Roger Harmer's statement earlier this month that an agreement could be finalised within weeks.
Deal 'on the table' after lengthy dispute
Ms Powell said: "I think the deal to end the strikes is imminent, it's on the table. There is a broad agreement there now and we need to get that done because it's gone on for far too long and the residents of Birmingham are rightly fed up with not being able to recycle what they want to recycle and not having the bin service they need."
She added that the council had to work closely with the workforce to ensure job security and pay requirements were met for workers.
Staff first walked out in January 2025 over job and pay proposals that the council maintained were essential to deliver improvements and align the service with that provided by other authorities.
Apology to residents over prolonged disruption
Ms Powell conceded the dispute could have been settled earlier and offered a direct apology to Birmingham residents.
"Could it have been done sooner? Yes, it probably could have been done faster, but it is an incredibly complex situation," she said. "I'm very sorry to the residents of Birmingham that they've had to live with this for such a long time, but the resolution is now in sight in a way that is good for the workforce, good for the workers in the long-term, doesn't open up the city to equal pay claims going forward and most importantly will get these services back up and running."
The Unite union has argued that the proposed changes would result in wage cuts of around £8,000 for hundreds of its members, a claim the authority has consistently challenged.
Equal pay concerns and political decisions
Concerns have emerged that any settlement might expose the authority to more equal pay claims, something Unite has refuted.
Ms Powell rejected suggestions that central Government could have intervened to prevent the industrial action. She also said the national Labour Party did not instruct the Labour group in Birmingham not to take part in a coalition established to run the council after it lost control of the city at the local elections.
"They were decisions for the Labour group," she said. "I understand them because when you go from running a council, and being the largest group by some margin, I think you have to accept the verdict of the voters that they perhaps don't want you anymore to be running the council. So I understand that."
