Birmingham's refuse workers go on strike

Refuse workers in Birmingham have gone on strike in a dispute over job losses.

Members of the Unite union will are stopping work from 10:45 until 15:37 BST on Friday. Further stoppages are also planned.

The union claims restructuring plans are threatening the jobs of more than 120 staff.

The authority, which said plans will modernise the service and save £5m a year, said it is working to address missed waste collections.

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There will be an overtime ban and workers will return to depots for all lunch and tea breaks, the union said.

There will also be a series of two hour stoppages on 3, 11, 19 and 27 July and 4 August.

'Inadequate consultation'

Workers on strike at the Lifford Lane recycling centre in Kings Norton

Unite regional officer Lynne Shakespeare said: "The council's actions have managed to combine financial incompetence in the waste management team and now they have started bullying our members as the bosses attempt to cut full-time jobs.

"The council wants to axe 122 waste collection jobs after a woefully inadequate consultation with the unions."

BBC Midlands Today reporter Ben Godfrey, who was at the Lifford Lane recycling centre in Kings Norton,said workers on the picket line said they had been told not to speak to journalists about why they are striking.

The council said it is talking to the unions to resolve industrial action.

Jacqui Kennedy, corporate director place at the council, said: "We're asking people to leave their bins out and we will get to them as soon as we possibly can.

"We're working closely with the trade unions to try and agree a way forward to address our differences. We do have to modernise the service and that takes some time."