The first of twelve planned bin strikes in Birmingham begins, with waste collection services disrupted across the city. Refuse workers are taking industrial action in response to what they describe as an attack on pay and working conditions by Birmingham City Council.
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00:00Birmingham faces waste collection disruptions as 350 workers commence strike action.
00:06The council's decision to downgrade 170 roles is at the centre of the dispute,
00:11with Unite stating this will cost affected workers up to £8,000 annually.
00:16Alongside the strike and overtime ban, and work to rule, are already causing delays.
00:21The council has expressed its disappointment and claims it's committed to resolving the matter,
00:26but residents are bracing for the impact of the action.
00:29We spoke to people in the city to hear their thoughts.
00:32Yeah, they would have tried everything else before striking.
00:36Nobody wants to be off work, but obviously they've not been listened to.
00:40This is a last resort, so whilst it is rubbishy for the rest of us,
00:45I do get it, I do get it.
00:47It highlights again how important they are for the community as well.
00:51Oh yeah, massive.
00:52I feel like you don't realise how important something is until it's gone,
00:57and everybody will realise, oh crikey, we need these, let's give them a pay rise.
01:01How can they say they're going to still be out in April?
01:04Does that tell me that they're not prepared to get round the table and negotiate a deal?
01:08You know, I was brought up that strikes, you know, I was around in the 70s when there was a lot of strikes and stuff.
01:16Strikes, strike pay doesn't pay bills.
01:19The unions need to negotiate, get round that table and negotiate.
01:24Get an offer, it may not be the offer they want, accept it, but then get back in negotiating for the next.
01:32Well, I think that they're ambitious because as we know, Birmingham is on the brink of financial collapse.
01:43I don't live in the Birmingham local authority, I live in the Dudley local authority,
01:48which is also, you know, hanging on by its fingertips because it has very low reserves.