LABOUR must step in to resolve the long-running Birmingham bin workers’ strike, FBU general secretary Steve Wright said yesterday.

The firefighters’ union leader called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner to intervene in the bitter row over pay to deliver a “decent settlement” for the workers.

He challenged the government to use its power and influence to insist that Birmingham Council halt planned pay cuts of up to £8,000 for workers and compensate the strikers for lost income. Members of Unite have been on all-out strike since March.

Mr Wright warned that unions affiliated to Labour such as the FBU would not tolerate a “betrayal” similar to that of workers in a series of high-profile disputes in the late 1990s that Tony Blair’s Labour government failed to intervene in.

Ahead of a “solidarity megapicket” by unions in Birmingham this Friday, he said: “The treatment of the bin workers has been outrageous. It’s a disgrace that a Labour-led council forced these dedicated public servants to go on strike by attempting to cut their pay by thousands of pounds.

“The Prime Minister and his deputy cannot stand by any longer and allow this attack on the jobs and wages of these workers who have lost their family incomes and faced dire poverty for many months.

“Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner could easily resolve this dispute by insisting that Birmingham Council halts the planned pay cuts and compensates the bin workers for all lost earnings.

“The leadership of the Labour government has the power to do this, and there must be no excuses.

“Nearly 30 years ago, Tony Blair’s Labour government failed to intervene in favour of the Liverpool dockers, Magnet strikers in Darlington, and Hillingdon hospital workers.

“Unions affiliated to Labour like the FBU that help fund the party’s election campaigns will not tolerate a repeat of this betrayal of striking workers.”

Talks to resolve the strike broke down completely, with the council claiming it had “reached the absolute limit” of what it could offer earlier this month, leaving some bin lorry drivers at risk of compulsory redundancy.

Conciliation service Acas had been mediating in the negotiations since May.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused the council of resorting to a fire & rehire strategy.