'Squeaky blinders' not welcome - MP's 'rats the size of cats' invasion fear over bin strike
Politician also expresses concern over increase in fly-tipping in areas bordering Birmingham as the all-out dispute drags on
A Midland MP has told of her fears that "rats the size of cats" could invade her patch as a result of Birmingham's bin strike. Aldridge-Brownhills representative Wendy Morton dubbed the vermin the "squeaky blinders" as she addressed concerns of more fly-tipping in areas bordering the city because of the dispute.
Nearly 400 council binmen and Unite union members in Birmingham began an all-out strike last week and the dispute has turned increasingly bitter with picket line flashpoints and go-slow tactics delaying working crews from leaving depots.
Tory Ms Morton told the Commons: “Fly-tipping is expensive and it’s a dangerous nuisance.
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“Local authorities such as Conservative-led Walsall are taking a really proactive and determined approach to tackling this, but with bin strikes on our doorstep in the neighbouring Labour-led Birmingham Council, we fear more fly-tipping, particularly in the communities that border Birmingham.
“Alarmingly, we’re hearing of rats the size of cats in Britain’s second city and, let’s be quite certain, the Squeaky Blinders are definitely not welcome in Aldridge-Brownhills.”
She asked nature minister Mary Creagh, a Coventry MP, what the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) could do to “support” authorities like Walsall which share a boundary with Birmingham.
She also asked what ministers could do to help “bring the bin strikes to an end”.
Ms Creagh said a rise in illegal waste dumping “certainly hasn’t occurred” in Coventry and resolving the strikes was “a matter to the council”.
She said: “As a neighbouring MP in Coventry, we have not seen any of the fly-tipping that she talks about in Walsall. It certainly hasn’t occurred in Coventry.
“But what I would say is both sides need to get round the table and sort this out for the benefit of the people of Birmingham.”
Unite the Union national lead officer Onay Kasab previously said Birmingham City Council could end the dispute “by agreeing to pay a decent rate of pay”.
The trade union has claimed ending the waste collection and recycling officer role has hit 150 workers with pay cuts of up to £8,000, which the local authority has disputed.
According to Birmingham City Council, the number of staff that could lose the maximum amount of just over £6,000 is 17 and a town hall spokesperson said the “door is still open” for Unite to “come back to the table”.