Industrial relations increasingly strained

Birmingham workers announce strike and unions in Hull and Southampton discuss options following cut announcements

Waste collectors in Birmingham have announced a further two days of industrial action in a long-running dispute over pay.

Unions have informed Birmingham City Council managers that bin men will strike next Thursday and Friday at a time when the authority is struggling to deal with a backlog following an earlier strike and poor weather conditions.

The dispute pre-dates the current financial cuts and relates to the council’s attempt to ensure that its pay and grading structures do not break equal pay legislation.

GMB regional secretary Joe Morgan said: “Birmingham City Council say that the only way they can introduce equal pay is to level the pay of the men down to that of the women workers.

“I have a very simple message for the councillors at Birmingham City Council. There is no way that GMB members will accept a pay cut of £4,000 a year.”

However, the council’s leadership has insisted that it will not budge.

Cabinet member for equalities and human resources Alan Rudge (Con) said: “While we are keen to find a solution as quickly as possible, it must be made absolutely clear that the pay and conditions of a small group of fleet and waste management staff did not meet equality laws and therefore had to be revised. Doing nothing or leaving the existing structure in place was not an option.”

Industrial relations between unions and council managers are coming under strain elsewhere in the country as councils start to unveil their proposals for coping with the budget cuts which must be made from April.

On Wednesday, Hull City Council announced a range of proposals, including the scaling back of social care provision and street cleaning services.

Managers also issued redundancy warning notices to 1,389 staff, representing 18% of the workforce, and unions are set to discuss the plans and any possible industrial action in the coming weeks.

On the same day, Southampton City Council managers asked employees to take unpaid leave and a pay cut as the council attempts to save 5.4% from its wage bill.

Chief executive Alistair Neill warned his staff that a failure to come to an agreement could result in more redundancies than the 250 currently proposed for next year.

Union leaders in Southampton are due to meet later this month and decide on whether to ballot for strike action.

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