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Refuse workers at Birmingham council set to strike
Refuse workers at Birmingham city council are set to strike as claims of ‘a bullying culture’ and ‘financial incompetence’ have unveiled.
Members of Unite, the country’s largest union, will strike on Friday 30 June. There will also be a series of two-hour stoppages commencing on 3, 11, 19 and 27 July and 4 August. There will also be an overtime ban wth workers adhering to their contracted hours, plus returning to depots for all lunch and tea breaks, also starting on 30 June.
Unite said that the overspend for the 2016/17 financial year, previously believed to be £9.7 million, had been confirmed by a top council boss as rising to £11.9 million, contradicting the authority’s previous press statements that these cuts were due to budget costs and austerity measures.
Lynne Shakespeare, Unite regional officer, said: “The council’s actions have managed to combine financial incompetence in the waste management team and now they have started bullying our members as the bosses attempt to cut full-time jobs. The council wants to axe 122 waste collection jobs after a woefully inadequate consultation with the unions.
“The process was a sham, bordering on a farce – and that’s why Unite members will be taking strike action to protect services to the public in the UK’s biggest local authority. Unite also wants to preserve their jobs from an unnecessary cuts programme which has also seen a sharp increase of agency staff replacing permanent workers which is of no benefit to anyone.”
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