Military planners have been called in to help tackle the mounting piles of rubbish on Birmingham’s streets after a month-long strike by refuse workers.

The all-out strike, which began on 11 March as part of a dispute over pay, has meant thousands of tonnes of rubbish have gone uncollected and prompted warnings of a public health emergency.

Birmingham city council has already appealed to neighbouring authorities for assistance but the government has now asked for help from the army in tackling the crisis.

A small number of planners will be assigned to provide temporary logistical support for a short period. They will be office-based and soldiers are not being deployed to collect rubbish.

A government spokesperson said: “The government has already provided a number of staff to support the council with logistics and make sure the response on the ground is swift to address the associated public health risks.

“In light of the ongoing public health risk, a small number of office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise have been made available to Birmingham city council to further support in this area.

“This builds on a range of measures we’ve supported the council on to date – including neighbouring authorities providing additional vehicles and crews, and opening household waste centres to Birmingham residents.”

Last week the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, urged members of the Unite union to accept an “improved” deal, while the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said the strike had “escalated way out of hand”.

But the dispute has further strained relations between Labour and Unite. The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, has spoken out against “the constant attacks and briefings against these low-paid bin workers”.

She said: “It is important to reiterate the truth, as opposed to the lies being peddled in an attempt to distract.

“This dispute is not about greed or increased pay. This dispute is about workers losing up to £8,000 of their pay – which for some is almost a quarter.”

The council says only 17 workers will be affected, and they stand to lose much less than Unite has claimed.

Graham added that a partial deal on pay protection for some workers had already been agreed and urged the council to accept a wider offer the union had put forward.

A further ballot on a deal to end the strike is expected to take place on Monday.