City chief embroiled in Birmingham bin strike moves to award-winning 'clean' city

The city chief embroiled in the bin strike crisis in Birmingham has left the rat-infested rubbish piles behind - for a life in sun-soaked Australia.

Craig Cooper, who defended Birmingham City Council's position throughout the strike dispute, has set up sticks in Brisbane after leaving his post, the Mirror can reveal. His new home is 10,000 miles away from the apocalyptic scenes plaguing Britain's second biggest city.

And his move to Queensland will see him move to one of the "cleanest, greenest and most sustainable cities in Australia", which was given aUNgong in 2023. Mr Cooper, 58, announced his move on LinkedIn, saying he was "looking forward, with one eye on Brisbane 2032", seemingly a reference to the Olympic Games.

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When approached by the Mirror, Mr Cooper denied he was hoping to take up a role planning the 2032 Olympics in Queensland. But he confirmed he had emigrated to one of the world's cleanest cities after leaving his post earlier this year in April. Last night community campaigner Paul Smith, 46, said the move reflected the council's attitude towards residents who had "given up hope" after months of living in squalor.

The engineer, from Northfield, Birmingham, said: "I might join him. It shows the attitude towards residents. From speaking to people, they feel like dead men and women walking. I don't know what the answer is but people are really suffering. I've been out and about and I've seen the rats. There are piles of rubbish everywhere. The weather is getting warmer and it stinks. Contractors are coming to clear things. The council is bankrupt - are they going to have a huge bill at the end of all this?"

Meanwhile Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “Craig Cooper may have run away to one of the cleanest cities on earth but the stink from his disgraceful championing of brutal pay cuts of up to £8,000 for hundreds of bin workers is still following him around.”

Mr Cooper, whose job as Birmingham City Council’s Strategic Director of City Operations, saw him responsible for waste services in a time of turmoil, said: "It's true I have emigrated to Australia but at this point I won’t be stating who I’m working for. You’d be wrong to state that I’m actually at present working to deliver Brisbane 2032. It’s also worth noting that the move to Australia was planned some time ago and isn’t something that happened recently."

This week deputy prime minister Angela Rayner was suspended by Labour union Unite over her role in the Birmingham bin strike crisis. The union confirmed the move as it announced it was reviewing its relationship with the Labour party. The union voted in favour of the decision at a conference in Brighton on Friday, accusing the Labour firebrand of backing a council that had "peddled lies".

During his time in Birmingham, Mr Cooper took a tough line with bin workers, cracking down on "task and finish" practices inside the waste service that had triggered equal pay claims. The "task and finish" arrangement was introduced as an emergency measure during Covid in the city's four bin depots to protect crews from catching the virus, encouraging them to go home when their rounds were completed.

But the practice has carried on ever since, with the council's knowledge, it has been claimed. Mr Cooper also led a major review of waste and street cleaning services, leading to the decision to axe the disputed role of Waste Recycling and Collection Officer that is behind the ongoing strike action.

In interviews about the strike, he criticised Unite for "holding the city to ransom" over the fate of a small number of workers, despite a "fair and reasonable" offer. He announced his decision to move to Australia on LinkedIn saying he was "looking forward, with one eye on Brisbane 2032", writing: “After an extraordinary few years, it’s time to say goodbye to Birmingham - a city that has challenged me, inspired me, and given me so much.

"As the Executive Director City Operations, I’ve had the privilege of leading through a time of intense change and real momentum. From complex day-to-day operations, significant large scale capital developments to playing a key leadership role for landmark moments like the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, I’ve witnessed the very best of this city’s resilience, creativity, and community spirit.

"One of my greatest professional joys has been building a high-performing leadership team - passionate, skilled, and committed - who are now driving forward an ambitious agenda of delivery transformation, with major developments and more global sporting events on the horizon.”

The official's new life Down Under has emerged just days after talks to resolve Birmingham's bin strike broke down completely, with some bin lorry drivers now at risk of compulsory redundancy. Conciliation service Acas has been mediating in the negotiations since May but the council has now said the authority is "walking away".

Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton said the authority had "reached the absolute limit" of what it can offer in talks with the union. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham repeated earlier claims that the council had resorted to a "fire and rehire" strategy and she said threats would not work.

When asked about Mr Cooper's new role in Australia, a spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: "Richard Brookes is the interim replacement."