A GROWING number of agency staff are refusing to cross the Birmingham bin strikers’ picket lines, Unite said today.

Some 15 workers employed by Job & Talent to work for the city council have refused to do so at various depots.

Union members have been engaged in an all-out strike since March over counci plans to downgrade roles, with salary losses of up to £8,000.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is no surprise that more and more agency workers are refusing to cross the picket lines due to the toxic culture within the waste department. 

“This is the same council that thinks it is acceptable to fire and rehire bin workers, imposing pay cuts of up to £8,000.

“Unite supports all Birmingham bin workers — whether they are employed by the council or an agency. The strikes will not stop until a fair deal is reached.”

The union accused managers of threatening agency staff with disciplinary action and the loss of their jobs to press them into accepting unsustainable workloads.

They are unsustainable because there are no recycling or garden waste collections, meaning that all refuse ends up in a single bin that is often extremely heavy and overflowing, Unite explained.

One agency worker told the union: “Me and my colleagues in the last two months have been bullied and victimised and constantly put under pressure to complete our rounds and undertake extra work or face the threat of a disciplinary or the sack.

“The morale amongst the agency staff is at an all-time low due to the constant bullying from the agency and the managers.”

The council and Job & Talent have been contacted for comment.