Angela Rayner has been blasted for ignoring striking workers in Birmingham after urging them to "accept the offer" put forward by the council.
Britain's second city is being buried in around 21,000 tonnes of festering rubbish after bin workers from the Unite Union went on strike over pay cuts.
Discussing the strikes, Rayner called on disgruntled workers to end the "misery and disruption" for residents and called for the backlog in waste collections to be "dealt with quickly".
She added: "There is a significantly improved offer on the table for the workers, and I'm urging Unite to suspend their action and to accept that offer."
Angela Rayner has been blasted for 'ignoring' strikers in Birmingham, following her visit to the rubbish-infested city
PA / GB News
Discussing Rayner's visit to the city, Unite Union representative Luke Dalton claimed that the Deputy Prime Minister "did not speak" to any of the striking workers, and is "frustrated" by her calls to accept the current offer.
Dalton fumed: "I'm a bit frustrated by her comment, to be honest. Angela Rayner only intervened after our general secretary wrote a letter - we've been out here 12 weeks now, and she's urging us to accept a deal that isn't a complete deal anyway.
"She was in Birmingham yesterday and she failed to address anybody. She didn't come to any pickets to speak to anybody in regards to this."
Hitting out at the council, Dalton claimed the dispute is now a "two-pronged attack", and is longer "just about the loaders".
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Angela Rayner urged refuse workers in Birmingham to 'accept the offer' from the council
POOL
Dalton told GB News: "This has become a two pronged attack in regards to it's not just about the loaders, there are other things going on in the background.
"So what I would urge Angela Rayner to do is get the decision makers into our meetings so that we can actually hash out a deal."
Expressing the mood of the strikers, Dalton admitted that the workers "don't want to be out here longer than they need to be", but they are still "not being given the decision makers" in negotiations.
He stated: "We don't want to be out here any longer than we have to be - however, we're still being given puppets and we're not getting the decision makers in these negotiations.
Dalton told GB News urged the 'decision makers' to negotiate with the union to reach a full deal
GB News
"And without the decision makers being there, how can we make an informed decision in light of the fact that they're making perceived offers, but it's for half a deal. How can we accept half a deal?"
Issuing an apology to the residents of Birmingham who are suffering due to the strikes, Dalton assured that the workers "definitely sympathise with the public" and can "only apologise" for the disruption caused.
Dalton concluded: "I definitely sympathise with the public, it's not what we want to see. The majority of us live in Birmingham, and we have had the same experiences that they have.
"I can only apologise for the disruption that it has caused. Unfortunately, with the financial element to this, it's our job.
"We like to keep the city clean, but the financial element and the losses that they're going to accrue here, it's just not sustainable.
"So the only way that we can react is the way that we did, which was create disruption."
