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Unite has announced it has suspended Angela Rayner from her membership of the union, in an escalating row over the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
The union said it would also re-examine its relationship with Labour after an emergency motion at its conference in Brighton.<\/p>\n
The deputy prime minister has been urging striking bin workers <\/b>to accept a deal to end the dispute tabled by the Labour-run city council.<\/p>\n
Mountains of rubbish have been seen across the city since bin collection workers walked out in January, with an all-out strike going on since March.<\/p>\n
Unite is a major donor to the Labour Party, and has previously donated to Rayner herself. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Members of the Unite union walked out in January over plans to downgrade some roles as part of the city council’s attempts to sort out its equal pay liabilities.<\/p>\n
An all-out indefinite strike was announced in March, and a deal to end industrial action has not yet been reached.<\/p>\n
Conciliation service Acas has been mediating in the negotiations since May, but talks have broken down. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n