Leader of Birmingham Local Conservatives, Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington) has today written to Council Leader Cllr John Cotton (Lab, Glebe Farm & Tile Cross) calling for cast‑iron written assurances that any deal to resolve the ongoing refuse workers’ dispute will eliminate all outstanding equal‑pay exposure and avoid creating fresh legal liabilities. With uncollected waste piling up across the city and residents facing escalating council tax bills, councillors say the city “cannot afford another costly mistake”. Simultaneously, Conservative Audit Committee members, Cllr Merion Jenkins (Con, Sutton Mere Green) & Cllr Richard Parkin (Con, Sutton Reddicap) also wrote to the Independent Chair of Audit Committee, expressing concerns over the lack of transparency at last week's Audit Committee.
The warning follows the council’s mishandling of the 2017 bin‑strike settlement, which auditors say helped trigger the authority’s £760 million equal‑pay liability and the subsequent Section 114 “bankruptcy” notice issued in September 2023. Despite an emergency Council motion setting a deadline of 31 March 2025 to cap new claims, none of the three pillars needed to fix the crisis – settling existing claims, introducing a new pay‑and‑grading model and completing a job‑evaluation scheme - has been delivered.
Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington), Leader of the Opposition & Birmingham Local Conservatives, said:
Birmingham residents are still paying the price for Labour’s botched 2017 deal. Before another pound of taxpayers’ money is put on the table, the Labour Administration must provide rock‑solid proof that the settlement will close their equal‑pay loophole and not open new ones. Weekly and recycling collections must resume, streets must be cleaned and the Council must finally start putting residents first.
Cllr Meirion Jenkins (Con, Sutton Mere Green), Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, added:
The auditors have been clear: Any proposed deal on the waste dispute must come before scrutiny and Audit Committee before it is signed. Last week, officers refused to share the details that Audit Committee needs to properly consider the risks. Transparency isn’t optional - it's the only way to stop history repeating itself and protect Birmingham from another round of equal pay claims.
