Striking bin workers and residents protest cuts outside Birmingham council house

Later today, the full council is set to consider deeply divisive budget proposals for the next financial year which includes a huge wave of cuts and ‘savings’.

If they are passed by councillors, they will impact bin collections, culture, libraries, parks, street lighting, adult social care day centres and much more.

Among the huge crowd protesting in Victoria Square were refuse workers who have been holding a bins strike since January, leading to mounting waste across the city.

The workers, who are members of Unite, began industrial action over the scrapping of a waste recycling and collection officer role, which the union described as “safety-critical”.

This proposal is one of many included in the budget being considered today, March 4.

Zoe Mayou, regional officer at Unite, said during today’s demonstration that bin workers and community groups were “coming together” amid the financial turmoil at the council.

“We do have a lot of support [from residents],” she said. “We are not doing this strike to hold the city to ransom.

“I think it’s Max Caller [the government-appointed commissioner] who is holding the city to ransom.”

She said many Unite members were taxpayers living in Birmingham and feeling the impacts of the industrial action themselves.

Ms Mayou also urged locals worried about the all-out bin strike, set to start later this month, to get in touch with their councillor.

Clare Keogh, Unite’s national officer for local authorities, described some of the cuts being carried out by the council as “devastating”.

“It’s about saving a vital community service,” she said of the bin strike.

Elsewhere outside the council house, residents were protesting against the planned closure of Harborne Day Centre, which provides support and opportunities for those with learning and physical disabilities.

There was a furious reaction last year when cabinet members at the council agreed to close four adult social care day centres, including Harborne.

James Cross, who has been campaigning against the closure, said his uncle has been at Harborne for more than 40 years.

“It’s been really stressful,” he said about the council’s planned changes. “He’s severely disabled.”

He urged the council to “stop wasting money” and criticised the government-appointed commissioners brought in to oversee the council’s recovery.

“They’re not really versatile,” he said. “They need to think outside the box but they’re just making cut after cut.”

Asked if he was hopeful that Harborne Day Centre could remain open in some capacity, Mr Cross said: “I’d like to think so but the council is moving at such pace.”

Services at the closing centres are set to move to the five remaining day centres in Birmingham, which the council said could take place this month.

Coun Rob Pocock, who is overseeing the council’s transformation, said last year the authority had to save on costs and the remaining centres “need to be fully utilised”.

“Citizens using our centres have said they want to have a wider variety of activities outside the day centres and this is what we are also developing, as part of a more modern 21st century service,” he said.

He said the package as a whole meant anyone wanting to use a council day centre would still be able to and no staff were being made redundant.

On the bin strike, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson has said: “This escalation will mean greater disruption to residents – despite the fair and reasonable offer that the council made to Unite the Union.

“To the small number of workers whose wages are impacted ongoing by the changes to the service (of whom there are now only 40) we have already offered alternatives, including highly valuable LGV driver training for career progression and pay, and other roles in the council equivalent to their former roles.

“Residents of Birmingham want and deserve a better waste collection service and the restructure that Unite is opposing is part of the much-needed transformation of the service.

“Our door is still open, and we would encourage Unite to come back to the table.”