'Birmingham bin workers have little choice' over strike

BBC News

09-03-2025

Refuse workers have little choice but to take strike action over pay, a union representative has said.Unite members in Birmingham have staged a series of one-day walkouts since January with all-out strike action due to start on 11 March.Appearing on BBC Politics Midlands, Onay Kasar, Unite national lead officer, said: "When you're faced with a pay cut of up to £8,000 a year, what choice do we have?"The city council said it was proposing changes which would only affect 17 people and they face a pay cut of £6,000, not the £8,000 quoted by the union.
It also said it had offered those workers promotions and training to help them improve their pay, plus "attractive" voluntary redundancy packages.But the council also said the current pay structure was agreed in 2017 and was no longer the industry standard.It said the proposed pay changes were crucial if it was to become financially sustainable in the future.The new pay structure was voted through as part of the 2025/26 budget, which includes cuts to a wide range of services and another council tax hike.It is the Labour-run authority's second budget since it declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023.
Argument over figures
Mr Kasar said he was "really worried about the council's arithmetic" and said it would be 70 people affected by the pay cut, not 17.He said his union was prepared to talk and to make concessions.But he added: "Councillors have given themselves a 5% increase this year, clearly there's money for one group of people but not for public service workers."Labour MP for Dudley Sonia Kumar said although she acknowledged the reason refuse workers were striking, "the people of Birmingham were suffering"."I think we need a modern, sustainable and reliable waste service," she said."And I think really we need to work collaboratively with the unions and the stakeholders to get this over the line."
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