Max Caller spoke out as Birmingham City Council and the union Unite prepare to face each other in fresh negotiations to end the bin strike
The commissioners overseeing Birmingham City Council have denied being ‘directly involved’ in bin strike negotiations – while confirming the council is under clear orders not to agree anything that could jeopardise equal pay settlements.
Lead commissioner Max Caller rejected claims by Unite the union that he and his fellow commissioners are ‘pulling the strings’ in negotiations, due to restart tomorrow, Thursday May 1.
But he also said that the council was benefiting from their advice and input.
Commissioners had also made clear that the council could not cross a ‘red line’ around its recently agreed equal pay settlement, agreed in principle in the sum of around £250 million, nor set up the council for future grief around pay discrimination.
READ MORE: Unite union leader to personally take charge of Birmingham bin strike talks
In a one-to-one exclusive interview with Birmingham Live, Mr Caller admitted that even the most experienced specialist could not stop a ‘determined’ union going on strike – no matter their level of expertise or value.
Caller is one of six government-appointed commissioners overseeing the council, with powers to intervene at the highest level. Also on the panel of commissioners is industrial relations and people services expert Pam Parkes.
Together the six drew more than £1 million in fees and expenses in the last 12 months.
Yet despite their input, the council has again failed to avert strike action by a bins union, just like in 2017 and 2019.
In response to our questions about whether their presence was making a difference, Mr Caller said: “Do you think that industrial relations expertise prevents a strike if a union is determined… it cannot.
“We have Pam Parkes, a top level current president of PPMA (the organisation Public Services People Managers’ Association), a top person, who, like me, like Jackie Belton (a fellow commissioner) has done these things (industrial relations negotiations).
“But if the union does what it wants to do, and they’re entitled to do, that is difficult. But I’m not commenting on this dispute. The council is leading on this dispute.
“We give our advice. We help the council think about what they need to do. We are not negotiating, we’ve never said we’re going to be negotiating. That’s a matter for the council – what we have said to the council explicitly is you need to modernise your waste service.
“The council has known this since 2019 yet has failed to do it. We’ve also said explicitly that solving the equal pay dimension is fundamental to the council’s improvement journey and that they cannot negotiate any settlement which would breach that…they cannot prejudice the position that they’ve achieved since commissioners first arrived in October 2023.
“With our help, the council was able to negotiate an addendum to the trade union (job evaluation and pay) agreement – which Unite as one of the three recognised trade unions signed up to. That process is ongoing.
“We’re all committed to that, as are Government ministers, as you’ve heard in their statements, we are all committed to addressing the equal pay problem because actually what matters here is treating women workers fairly.
“This council has not treated women workers fairly. Whatever the outcome of this particular dispute, it’s women workers of this council that have been wrongly underpaid and discriminated against in their pay for those years since 2017. And that is a fundamental – it’s absolutely crucial.”
READ MORE: Massive Birmingham bin strike update as 200 more waste workers told they face huge pay cuts
He added: “Our focus has been on making sure that any proposal that comes forward will not prejudice the equal pay deal which is coming close to fruition. No one can prejudice that. Because that would be letting every woman worker in this city council’s employ down and that’s not what anyone is going to do.”
Caller later appeared at a meeting of the council’s finance overview and scrutiny committee, where he was pressed by Councillor Fred Grindrod (Lab, Bournville) about whether a deal offer to Unite, drawn up by the council last November, had to first be signed off by commissioners. He denied their direct involvement and said no veto or other intervention had resulted. The deal eventually was rejected.
Talks are due to restart tomorrow under the auspices of Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, between Unite the union and the city council in a dispute over the fate of 170 Grade 3 bin workers. The role of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officers was deleted in January, triggering strike action.
The situation was further complicated yesterday (Tuesday) when the council told bin truck drivers that a job evaluation process linked to equal pay was indicating their Grade 4 role should be dropped to Grade 3, triggering a furious reaction.
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