Bin workers in pay protest outside council HQ

Bin workers in Birmingham have staged a protest outside the council's HQ as part of ongoing industrial action over pay.

More than 350 staff voted to strike in December over changes their union said would see dozens of them take an £8,000 pay cut.

"The council need to get the message," said Onay Kasab, Unite's lead national officer. "They haven't got the message up to now, so they need to feel the anger of our members."

Birmingham City Council has said it was committed to resolving the situation, which arose as the authority has sought to improve collection services, and aimed to minimise disruption for residents. It also disputed the £8,000 figure claimed by the union.

Last week, it was announced workers would strike on 12 days this month and 13 in March - up from the four originally planned for each of those months - with another two days of action planned in early April.

Unite said the action was centred on the council's decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer roles from some bin workers.

The council said those affected had been redeployed or offered redundancy, but Mr Kasab said that was "nonsense".

"There are some people who have gone through and retrained as drivers, but if they've failed that training then they'll go straight down to [a lower salary]," he said.

"We are not going to take pay cuts. We expect councillors to stand up for workers and the community in Birmingham."

Mr Kasab added there were wider issues than pay.

"Even before the strike, this is a service that's on its knees, despite the hard work of our members," he said.

"We've got a high turnover of staff. We've got some days where up to 20 vehicles out of 100 are not working.

"So even without the strike, this is a service which, despite the efforts of our members, is in trouble. It needs investment, it doesn't need pay cuts."

Workers and the union are not happy "at all" about the disruption to bin collections, Mr Kasab added.

"But what choice do people have when you're looking at a pay cut of £8,000?" he asked.

Talks between Unite and the city council are due to take place following the latest walkout.

In a statement, Birmingham City Council said: "The waste service is undertaking a significant, and long overdue, change programme, including new vehicles, new staffing arrangements and new collection systems.

"Making these improvements will provide the residents of Birmingham with a better waste collection service that is in line with other councils."

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