Strikes by more than 350 Birmingham bin workers will ‘intensify’ over the next two months, trade union Unite has announced.
The dispute was sparked by Birmingham City Council’s decision to abolish the role of waste recycling and collection officer, which Unite said would mean pay cuts of up £8,000 for 150 staff members.
Industrial action will be extended from four to 12 days in February and from four to 13 days in March, meaning strikes have begun today.
Unite regional officer Zoe Mayou said: ‘Unite’s door remains open to meaningful discussions with the council to resolving this dispute.
‘It is the council that bears the responsibility for it escalating.
‘Its behaviour towards its directly employed staff is vindictive and does nothing to solve the operational problems that are staring it in the face.’
A spokesperson for the council previously said: ‘We are disappointed that this action is taking place, but we are continuing to work through the dispute resolution procedure.’
Birmingham also said it had offered several options to the affected workers and most had already opted for redeployment, driver training or voluntary redundancy.
