Strikes suspended in Birmingham dispute

Unions have agreed to suspend strikes planned for tomorrow (February 26) after council bosses agreed to fresh talks.

The second 24 hour strike had been called in due to a bitter dispute over pay and conditions. Which was caused when the council decided to impose new contracts on over 20,000 of its workers. The new contracts meant that many workers were set to be thousands of pounds worse off.

Talks on the dispute will now take place over the next two weeks. Although strike action has been suspended, if a satisfactory deal cannot be reached, industrial action is set to resume.

Steve Murphy, the regional secretary for UCATT Midlands, said: “Thankfully Birmingham council bosses have seen sense and are willing to hold talks. Why they couldn’t do this months ago, is a mystery. It is essential that this matter is resolved in the next fortnight and the council does not use the offer of talks as a delaying tactic.”

The other unions involved in the dispute are GMB, UNISON and UNITE.