Conciliation service Acas is hosting a new series of talks from today between Birmingham Council and the union Unite aimed at resolving the continuing bin strike in Birmingham.
It will be Acas’s first major involvement in attempts to end the full strike since it started, on 11 March.
Industrial action began in January over the scrapping of a waste recycling and collection officer role, which the union described as safety-critical. Unite, whose negotiating team at Acas will be led by its general secretary Sharon Graham, has said the ending of these roles would see affected workers lose up to £8,000 a year.
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Additionally, about 200 drivers, mostly men, fear their jobs are to be downgraded as part of an equal pay-related review and evaluation exercise by Birmingham City Council.
The drivers affected, currently listed as grade 4 roles, could be regraded to grade 3 according to reports, which would result in a significant pay cut.
Driver team leaders, who navigate the trucks through the city’s streets, currently earn between £33,366 and £40,476. If these jobs came under grade 3 the salary would be £26,409-£32,654.
The waste recycling and collection officer role, the axing of which triggered the dispute back in January was a grade 3 role held by 170 staff.
However, the city council has said a “fair and reasonable offer” has been made and claimed “not a single worker needs to lose a penny” – and last week Unite said a fair deal to resolve the dispute was in “touching distance”. On 14 April Unite rejected an offer from the council on the basis that it wouldn’t protect workers from a large pay cut.
Acas director of dispute resolution Kevin Rowan, said: “We can confirm that Birmingham City Council and Unite have agreed to Acas conciliation talks to help them resolve the current dispute involving refuse workers.”
Acas can offer employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice, but has no statutory powers.
In March, a major incident was declared in Birmingham amid concerns for public health and the environment.
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