Birmingham bin workers begin indefinite all-out strike
An indefinite all-out strike for refuse workers in Birmingham has commenced.The action officially started at 06:00 GMT on Tuesday, however, collectors have been striking on and off since January following plans to downgrade some staff and reduce their pay.Mahmoud Barreh, 58, lives in Balsall Heath and has not had his bin collected for three weeks, he said: "People are really worried, we pay high charges of council tax, which is going to rise in April, and feel Birmingham City Council is not doing their duty."Craig Cooper, from the authority said a "fair and reasonable consultation had been under way since last autumn".
Mr Cooper, who is the strategic director of city operations, added that the authority was "keen to have a proper dialogue on how we transform this service", but criticised the Unite Union for "only wanting to talk about the Grade 3 role" which the authority wish to cut.Speaking from a picket line in Tyseley, Zoe Mayou from the union said the action had been escalated as the authority "aren't willing to come to the table and have proper negotiations about the whole structure of the team... so this is where we are". Mr Barreh said Balsall Heath was affected by bin strikes in 2017, however, the situation was "already far worse" than his previous experience. "It's already started to smell, long before today, it's a risk to health and we are very worried that the industrial action is now indefinite."
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