00:00Unite the Union has accused Birmingham City Council's most senior officer of making misleading remarks about the long-running bin strike negotiations in Birmingham this week.
00:10The industrial action began a year ago after the council moved to remove the waste recycling and collection officer role,
00:18with Unite saying some staff face pay cuts of up to £8,000, a figure the council disputes.
00:24At a recent scrutiny meeting, Managing Director Joanne Roney told councillors that two offers had been made to settle the dispute and both were rejected by Unite.
00:36She said finding a route to agreement has been difficult because any settlement cannot worsen the council's equal pay position and must meet best value tests overseen by government-appointed commissioners.
00:49Unite says a ballpark package was discussed in talks at ACAS last year.
00:55But claims it was later blocked and replaced with a lower offer, leaving workers feeling there was no realistic path back to meaningful negotiation.
01:04A refuse worker on the picket line, Matthew Reid, said the council's claim that doors remain open does not match real-world workers' experience.
01:14The council's leader, John Cotton, has said Unite has turned down a succession of fair offers and that the authority cannot concede terms that would reopen equal pay risks and force deeper cuts elsewhere.
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