Talks to end a strike by bin workers in Birmingham have ended without a deal.

The Unite union said negotiations would resume next week, although it offered to continue talking over Easter.

The strike has been running for more than five weeks and the union said a deal "would be much closer" if promises made by the council in interviews were put in writing.

John Cotton, leader of the Labour-run council, said he was "mystified" by the comments, adding the local authority had been very clear that "nobody needs to lose out".

Hundreds of Unite members began an all-out strike on 11 March in a standoff with the council that has led to bin bags and fly-tipped rubbish piled up on streets.

The pay dispute was initially focused on the council's plans to remove the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, a safety position it says does not exist at other authorities.

However, Unite has more recently urged the council to guarantee bin lorry drivers' existing levels of pay, particularly with many WRCOs encouraged to take up driving training as a way of protecting their income.

A group of people stand in a row and hold red flags and banners in different colours. The red flags say "Unite the union" on them in white writing. The crowd mostly contains men but there are a few women also.

A rally was held on Tuesday outside Birmingham City Council, with Unite officials, bin workers and supporters attending

In Wednesday's statement, the union said: "Speaking to the BBC this morning ahead of fresh negotiations, council leader John Cotton said, 'we're in a position where nobody needs to be losing income'.

"If this is true and guarantees were put in writing as part of a new offer, a deal would be much closer."

Unite said drivers on strike had been told during talks their yearly pay was likely to go down from ?40,000 to ?32,000.

It stated: "For WRCO workers who do not wish to make a sideways move, the council are saying in public that they will get a one-off payment of ?16,000 which would cover two years' loss of ?8,000 in pay cuts.

"Again, if this is true this needs to be put in writing."

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said she stood ready to meet Cotton and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over Easter.

But she said the council leader should "rethink his position" if his comments "prove again to be untrue".

"We appear to be in a parallel universe. Yet again John Cotton is saying one thing in public, while his local officers are saying another in the negotiating room and in writing," she said.

A consultation on plans for compulsory redundancies affecting up to 72 refuse staff began on 3 April. (BBC)

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