A Birmingham refuse worker has demanded a "fair evaluation" from the council as protests against the proposed pay cuts reach nine months.
Speaking to GB News, Luke Dalton told National Reporter Jack Carson that both the striking workers and agency staff have "had enough" of the way the council is handling the situation.
The walkouts began in March after refuse workers were told their roles were at risk of an £8,000 pay cut, due to a change in the grading system.
As the demonstrations reach the nine-month mark, it has been revealed that Birmingham City Council has spent £1.1million a month on agency staff to help clear the mounting bin waste.
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Reacting to the strikes reaching the nine-month mark, Mr Dalton told GB News: "I'll be honest, it's just been going on and on, hasn't it?
"We didn't even realise it had been nine months today, because every day is kind of rolling into the other."
Sharing the latest on the negotiations, he fumed: "We're still no further forward, we're still waiting for the council to get back around the table, and they're still refusing to do so.
"It is literally an £8,000 or up to £8,000 pay cut, and we just want to get back around the table and have a conversation."
Birmingham refuse worker Luke Dalton has told GB News that protesters want a 'discussion' with the council after nine months of walkouts
|GB NEWS
Stressing that workers are particularly impacted by the situation leading up to Christmas, Mr Dalton said: "It's nearly Christmas, it's been a difficult year for people, and they need to get back around the table and have a discussion, because we're not going away.
"We're balloting, it's 99 per cent, 100 per cent ballots on both. We've got agency workers out here with us as well that have had enough, so it's now time to get this sorted."
Asked by Jack what the workers would deem as "acceptable" in the negotiations, the striking worker explained: "Well, basically, we want a fair evaluation of our jobs as drivers, because that was never completed.
"As much as they say they did, they deleted our role. We want a fair and proper evaluation of our roles, and we just need a conversation."
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Birmingham's refuse workers have been striking for nine months
|GB NEWS
As Jack argued that the council would say the changes to the roles are part of a "reform" of the city's waste service, Mr Dalton responded: "But again, at what cost?
"I don't dispute the transformation of waste in regards to the improvement of vehicles, because it was an issue for us forever. Trucks breaking down, temperature, there were all sorts of issues with the trucks that they didn't operate correctly.
"So no issues with that, but you can't just pull money out of people's pockets to the sum of £8,000 and expect us to stand and say, okay, that's fine."
Noting that they have since been joined by the agency workers on the picket line, the Birmingham worker told GB News: "Let's be clear, there's a lot of agency out here.
"We've got 12 years, 14 years service. Some of these people have been here on agency for that period of time, and they were being threatened with their jobs. They asked us for support and we provided it to them."
Mr Dalton told GB News that agency workers have been joining the council workers on the picket line in protest
|GB NEWS
He added: "They was asking us, do we need help? They said the way they're treating us inside, we're being threatened with our jobs if we don't complete, if we don't do things, and the workload was unsustainable. What the council are trying to do is push on with implementation of changes while the full timers are out on strike, so that there's no resistance."
Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "It's regrettable that we have had to take this step, but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham.
"I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful and sadly the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city's environment.
"Unless we declare a major incident and deploy the waste service’s contingency plan, then we would be unable to clear the backlog of waste on the streets or improve the frequency of collections.
"I want to thank residents for their continued patience under difficult circumstances and the community groups who have been working hard within their communities to help with clear-up.
"I would reiterate that we have made a fair and reasonable offer to our workers which means none of them have to lose any money and I would urge Unite to reconsider their position."
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