The strike of cleaning employees in the UK can spread throughout the country – Cyprus Newspaper
In Birmingham, England, after the trash collectors have been on a uninterrupted strike for more than a month, union leaders warned that similar actions could spread throughout the country due to the financial crisis in other municipalities.
Sharon Graham, the Secretary General of the Unite Unite, representing garbage collectors, said in a statement to the BBC about the strike launched by the cleaning employees due to the abolition of some positions in Birmingham Municipality and the deductions in salaries.
Graham warned that the strike can be spread throughout the country and said, “If other municipalities force low -paid employees to pay the price of bad decisions they have not taken, of course we will have to take action in those regions.” he said.
The union’s national authority underlined that municipalities should give up such cost -reduction policies. « If other local governments make such deductions, the possibility of spreading strikes will be possible. » warned.
In the city of Peterborough, the GMB Union made legal initiatives against the municipality regarding the low salaries of employees in waste collection, street cleaning and park maintenance.
As a result of the protests of the GMB union in Devon, contracts for more than 800 municipal employees were rearranged.
Thousands of tons of garbage accumulated on the streets of Birmingham
The warning of the union officials came after the increasing public health concerns after the cleaning employees in Birmingham, the abolition of some positions and going on strike, citing the cuts in salaries.
The indefinite strike of the municipal employees for more than a month leads to the accumulation of thousands of tons of garbage on the streets, the increase of mice and the problems of sanitation.
The Birmingham Municipal Council decided to remove a position from the garbage truck teams in order to avoid future obligations for equal wage demands, and this decision sent employees to strike. On the other hand, it was announced that the municipality actually went bankrupt in 2023.
