The Birmingham bin crisis, currently affecting residents with 20,000 tonnes of rubbish on the streets, is attributed to the Labour administration's mismanagement. Shadow Cabinet member Meirion Jenkins links the ongoing strikes to a staggering £760 million debt and argues that historical decisions have led to current issues, including the equal pay liability linked to 2017's pay structure changes. The council's inability to implement a proper grading scheme has further complicated the situation, leading to strikes as workers seek fair compensation.
It's a dreadful situation. There were 21,000 tons of rubbish left on the streets, although the council claims that some of this is being collected by crews that are being brought in from neighbouring councils.
The problem dates right back to legislation from the Blair era, which meant that you could compare workers who were doing quite different jobs.
The bin men [are] on strike because the council, in order to remove the equal pay liability, are having to take away that intermediary grade three that they should never have given them in 2017.
At the time, we said that this will cause an equal pay dispute in due course, and sure enough roll forward eight years we have professionally estimated liability for equal pay of £760million.
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