Hundreds protest against £148m council cuts

Striking bin workers and residents opposed to service cuts are among hundreds of people protesting outside Birmingham City Council's headquarters ahead of a key budget meeting.

The council is expected to sign off about £148m of spending cuts, which will impact services including adult social care, bin collections and libraries.

Johnny, who is among about 350 refuse workers involved in strike action, said proposed changes meant his pay would be cut by £8,000 a year when he was already "struggling".

The council said it was working to ensure its finances would be in a more stable position next year.

The authority added that it had made a "fair and reasonable" offer to Unite over the bin strikes.

The council effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023, and had to find at least £300m in savings and sell assets worth £750m by April 2026.

Refuse workers, who are members of Unite, are concerned over the scrapping of a waste recycling and collection officer role, which the union described as "safety-critical".

It is among many proposals included in the budget being considered on Tuesday.

The council has said all its routes and working practices were risk-assessed and the restructure was in line with national practice.

Dave and Johnny told BBC Radio WM they would both lose £8,000 a year in pay as a result of proposed changes.

Johnny, who said his rent was £8,000 a year, told the BBC : "I went to the food bank twice in the last five years on my current salary."

Dave said after paying bills, including his mortgage and council tax: "I will just have enough for food and that's it.

"You shouldn't have to live like that, should you?"

He added they were sorry for the inconvenience the industrial action had caused residents but said workers "had to stand up for what's right".

Steeven, a bin worker from Small Heath, said he would personally lose about £2,000 a year under the proposals, which also meant some people who had been in the job for 30 years would earn the same as those joining two years ago.

"It's just not fair at all," he said.

Other protesters outside Birmingham Council House in the city's Victoria Square included a group opposed to the closure of Harborne Day Centre at the end of the month, which was agreed in the previous budget.

Jean Scott, whose disabled brother has attended the centre for 43 years, told BBC Radio WM it would be a "big upheaval" for users and she would not give up protesting until they "put the chains on the gates" of the centre.

She was also worried about planned cuts to children's and social services.

"If you're housebound and you have carers going in full-time three or four times a day and they are cut down to twice a day I do fear that people will lose their lives over these cuts," she said.

The most vulnerable people in society were being affected, Ms Scott added.

"Carers need to be looked after and people need to see the money we save councils and governments," she said.

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