Union threatens strike over Birmingham council’s ‘devastating’ cuts

One of Britain’s biggest unions has threatened to strike over “devastating” cuts at England’s largest local authority.

The Unite union has said it will do “everything in its power” both “politically and industrially” to ensure that workers do not pay the price for the financial crisis facing Birmingham City Council.

The union represents hundreds of Birmingham workers, with the potential for strikes to disrupt key services such as bin collections and social care.

On Tuesday night, the Labour-run authority – which declared itself effectively bankrupt by issuing a Section 114 notice last year – voted to make £300 million of cuts over the next two years in an attempt to balance the books.

At the same time, council tax will rise by 10 per cent in April and 10 per cent the year after, adding £350 to average bills.

The vote came a day after Nottingham City Council, which also issued a Section 114 notice last year, voted through its own cost-cutting budget, including a rise in council tax and new charges for public toilets and garden bin collections.

Six local authorities have effectively declared bankruptcy since 2021, with research suggesting one in six council bosses expect theirs to do the same in the coming year.

Last year, a survey by the Local Government Association found some 17 per cent of council leaders and chief executives in England think their chief finance officers are likely to issue a Section 114 notice in 2024-25.

Local authorities in England face a £4 billion funding gap over the next two years just to keep services at a standstill, the organisation said, with urgent help needed from the Government to avoid “drastic cuts”.

Councils claim they have been squeezed dry by dramatic cuts to Government funding and rising demand for services, while the Tories blame poor financial management at a local level.

Birmingham issued a Section 114 notice in September, halting all new spending, after facing equal pay claims of up to £760 million and an £80 million overspend on an under-fire IT system.

Independent commissioners were brought in by Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, to help run the council, which owes almost £3 billion to lenders.