Bin strike workers in city rally

Workers voted unanimously to continue strike action indefinitely

Refuse and street cleaning workers have marched through Leeds on the fourth day of strike action over a dispute about a new pay and grading system.

The GMB and Unison unions are unhappy with what they say are proposals by the authority to cut their pay by up to £6,000 a year from February 2011.

Workers joined a rally ahead of a meeting where they voted unanimously to continue strike action indefinitely.

The council has said it is willing to talk if they end the strike.

Desiree Risebury, from the GMB, said: "What I would ask the public and the citizens to do is sit back and think: 'What if my employer came to me and said they were going to cut a third of my wage?

The only way to resolve the issue of refuse worker pay is for the unions to return to the table Council leader Richard Brett

"How would I react? How would I pay the bills? How would I pay the mortgage?'"

The industrial strike relates to equal pay measures which the council is obliged to adopt, along with other local authorities.

Council leader Richard Brett said equal pay job evaluations found some refuse staff were paid more than their positions had been graded at.

In a statement on its website, the authority said it would cost £45m a year to "level up" salaries, so that no-one suffered wage cuts.

The council said this would have a "massive impact" on council services, could lead to thousands of job losses, and was "not an option".

Mr Brett said: "I maintain that the only way to resolve the issue of refuse worker pay is for the unions to return to the table."

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