THE highest paid Birmingham bin workers earn up to £45,000 a year, council figures reveal.
In contrast, carers employed by the city’s Labour-run local authority earn only £25,000.
PAResidents angry at seeing rubbish pile up in a sixth week of strikes hit out at the refuse workers’ deal[/caption]
AlamyThe highest paid Birmingham bin workers earn up to £45,000 a year[/caption]
Residents angry at seeing rubbish pile up in a sixth week of strikes hit out at the refuse workers’ deal, which sees bin lorry drivers earn £33,366 to £40,476 based on experience.
They are also eligible for overtime which sources say can add another £5,000 a year. Government figures show that the average UK bin worker earns £24,000 to £30,000.
Receptionist Gillian Giles, 38, from Moseley in the city, fumed: “I’d love £40,000 a year for a driving job.
“They don’t even have to get out of the cab when it’s cold.
“Their union has got them a good deal there, but these are tough times, especially when you’re taking your kid to school along filthy streets. It needs sorting out.”
Retired legal secretary Margaret Francis, 80, said: “I know people doing cleaning jobs who don’t get anything like that.”
Delivery driver Deepak Patel, 28, from Hodge Hill, said bin workers were in “dreamland”.
He added: “We get paid pennies for each drop we do, so we’d have to work day and night to reach that.
“I don’t begrudge them that wage but they should be thinking themselves lucky.”
Birmingham City Council says it is on track to clear the streets of waste, with its clean-up crews picking up more than 21,000 tons of rubbish this month.
But refuse staff are understood to have signed a ballot to carry on industrial action until September unless demands are met, with some believing it may go to Christmas.
Union Unite claims Grade 4 drivers face “unacceptable pay cuts” of up to £8,000 a year
Council leader John Cotton insists workers have been presented with a “fair and reasonable offer that means no one has to lose any pay”.
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