Nearly 400 Birmingham workers facing changes to their pay and conditions have voted to continue industrial action, Unite, the UK’s largest union, has announced.
The ballot, which resulted in 97% of workers voting in favour of strike action on a 75% turnout, means strike action could last until December.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, accused Birmingham City Council of watering down previous proposals and said it was no wonder many people were questioning “whose side” the Labour government was on.
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Intermittent strike action has taken place since January when an initial 12 walkouts were scheduled over four months. Bin collection workers then announced unlimited strikes on 11 March.
The dispute began as a result of the council’s decision to abolish the safety expertise waste recycling and collection officer role, resulting in pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers.
Birmingham City Council’s decision to hire temporary workers has further inflamed the relationship between union and management.
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 the local authority.
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 between £26,409 and £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.
Unite stated in January that workers had accepted cuts to their pay and terms and conditions since the council effectively declared bankruptcy in September 2023 and had co-operated with management to ensure services continued.
Birmingham council insisted on Thursday this week that it had made a “fair and reasonable” offer to the workers.
Sharon Graham said the council’s latest proposals did not sufficiently match those discussed during Acas talks in May. She also had harsh words for the government. She said: “After smearing these workers in public since January and telling them to accept a fair and reasonable offer that never existed, the council finally put a proposal in writing last week.
“True to form, the proposal came weeks late and was not in line with the ballpark offer discussed during Acas talks in May. It had been watered down by the government commissioners and the leader of the council despite them never having been in the negotiations.
“It beggars belief that a Labour government and Labour council are treating these workers so disgracefully. It is hardly surprising that so many working people are asking whose side Labour is on.
“The decision-makers at Birmingham council need to get in the room and put forward an acceptable offer. Unite will not allow these workers to be financially ruined – the strikes will continue for as long as it takes.
“Unite calls on the decision makers to let common sense prevail in upcoming negotiations.”
Birmingham council denied Graham’s claims that the bill had been watered down and said its bin collection service needed to be changed entirely.
The council said: “This is a service that needs to be transformed to one that citizens of Birmingham deserve, and the council remains committed to resolving this dispute.
“We have made a fair and reasonable offer that we have asked Unite to put to their members, and we are awaiting their response.”
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