BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL bosses are proposing a £12,000 pay cut for its most senior refuse collectors, the BFAWU annual conference heard today.

Striking refuse worker and Unite shop steward Mike Masters said that his colleagues should not be “made to pay for our employers’ mistakes and austerity.

“Let the fat cats pay with the 5.7 per cent pay rise they gave themselves,” he said.

Unite has warned that the city’s bin dispute could last until December after workers voted to continue industrial action in the long-running dispute over jobs and pay.

Strikes began in January after bin workers were told they could face pay cuts of up to £8,000: a quarter of their wages for some.

Talks have been held via conciliation service Acas, but the dispute remains deadlocked.

Mr Masters condemned the local authority for spending £200 million on undermining the  strike since January. Delegates answered “shame” as he continued: “All this under the eyes of Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and the Labour Party.”

He accused the council of making false allegations against the strikers: some were arrested and held in a police cell for 18 hours before being released without charge.

“I’m facing a dismissal because a manager used a bin lorry to run me over and I complained about it,” he told delegates.

Speaking to the Morning Star, he said that under the latest council offer, the pay of long-serving driver colleagues would drop from £42,000 to £30,000.

A Council spokesperson said: “This is a service that needs to be transformed to one that citizens of Birmingham deserve and the council remains committed to resolving this dispute.

“The council remains committed to resolving the industrial action in the best interest of all parties involved.”