Birmingham City Council’s financial monitoring report estimates strike action by refuse workers will cost the local authority £14.6m if the dispute is not resolved before March.
The report, authored by Carol Culley, Executive Director of Finance at Birmingham City Council, forecasts that the one-off and direct costs of the industrial dispute could total £14.6m if the industrial action continues to the end of March.
The report also said the council has incurred a ‘significant level’ of one-off response and clear-up costs.
Birmingham City Council did not respond to a request for comment.
In April last year, Birmingham City Council declared a major incident due to the backlog of waste on the streets, with over 17,000 tonnes of waste being left uncollected across Birmingham at one point.
Refuse workers in Birmingham have been on strike for the past 12 months, with agency staff voting to join the industrial action last year, over the council’s decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles.
Last spring, the council suspended its seasonal garden waste service, which the report estimates cost it £4.4 million in lost income. The report says the service will not be resumed within this financial year.
The report also found that income losses from bulky waste, commercial waste, and reduced paper volumes are likely to reach £4.2 million.
Birmingham City Council have announced they plan to launch a new waste service that includes weekly food waste collection and a second recycling bin in June, ‘regardless of the strike situation’.
The report found that the strike action will have an impact on the delivery of waste transformation savings, and it is ‘unlikely that the risks can be fully offset’.
Unite claims cost of bin strikes underestimated ‘by millions’
Unite the Union claims the report is likely to underestimate the cost incurred by the council.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham commented: “While council officials have been repeatedly refusing to engage in negotiations with Unite, the council has squandered millions of council taxpayers’ cash.”
“Costs are mounting every day. The council now needs to get in the room because these strikes will not end until there is a fair deal for Birmingham’s bin workers.”