City council leaders have backed a deal with their binmen which is ‘likely to resolve the current dispute’ and end the prospect of further strikes.

But the Labour leadership has been accused of ‘giving the unions everything they wanted’ by the opposition Tories after it was confirmed that the at risk binmen’s jobs will be retained at their existing pay grade.

The Unite union is due to meet members tomorrow and council bosses expected them to accept.

It also means that a High Court action over the dispute - which has cost £6.6 million - will be withdrawn.

Piles of rubbish and black bin bags strewn over the street on the corner of Cannon Hill Road and Edgbaston Road near to the cricket ground.

Council Labour leader Ian Ward said: “We have worked very, very hard to ensure that we can resolve this dispute with the trade unions. There are no real winners here.

"To date this has been enormously expensive for the taxpayers of Birmingham.”

He added: “The only bit of good news is that the residents of Birmingham will have their bins collected going forward.”

The key area of dispute surrounded the 106 grade three jobs called leading hands which were being scrapped and downgraded to a grade two losing workers about £4,000 a year.

Bin lorries in a line at the Redfern Depot, Tyseley
Bin lorries in a line at the Redfern Depot, Tyseley

Their jobs will now be rebranded as waste reduction and collection officers at their current level of pay. They will be given training to work on increasing recycling rates through the service.

The cabinet report stated that they will move towards to five day a week working and new bin rounds through which it expects to save £3 million a year.

The new focus on recycling will also increase council income by £1.6 million for every ten per cent increase in the city’s currently appalling recycling rate.

Opposition councillors were scathing of the deal.

Tory leader Coun Robert Alden
Tory leader Coun Robert Alden

Conservative leader Cllr Robert Alden said: “It is most disappointing that in effect we have given the unions everything they wanted, but instead of doing it last April we have spent £6.6 million on this dispute.”

A wall of bin bags on Medley Road, Sparkhill
A wall of bin bags on Medley Road, Sparkhill

Lib Dem leader Jon Hunt added: “It is good news there will be no more bin strikes and there’s no court action next week. But this will be costly for the city.”

Both opposition leaders asked if the new deal will be compliant with equal pay law as a similar deal agreed in August was though to risk legal action.Cllr Ward replied that these are completely new jobs.

Cabinet member for bins Lisa Trickett added that they had taken expert legal advice before agreeing the deal.

A Unite spokesman said: “Members will consider the proposal at a mass meeting tomorrow where they will decide whether or not to give it their backing and bring this long-running dispute to an end."