TWENTY-FIVE unions have demanded urgent action from the government and Birmingham City Council to end attacks on the pay and conditions of striking refuse workers.

In an open letter to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and council leader John Cotton published today, the unions say they ”stand united” with workers in their tenth week of strike action.

”The Labour government was elected to effect transformative change and improve the quality of life for all,” the letter states.

”After 14 years of austerity that have a damaging impact on our communities, services and society, it is imperative that urgent investment be made to deliver the transformative change that the people need.

”The proposed cuts to Birmingham bin workers, up to £8,000 annually, represent a continuation of austerity, not its end.

”We reject the council’s assertion that these cuts are driven by a desire for equal pay.

”Consequently, we reject the notion that pay equality is synonymous with reducing pay in a ‘race to the bottom‘ and instead advocate for a more equitable approach of ‘levelling up.‘

”We implore the council, the commissioners, and the government to cease these cuts and bring an end to this ongoing dispute.”

The letter in support of Unite and the workers comes a week after the trade union movement staged a ”mega picket” which closed down the Lifford Lane depot.

The general secretaries of Aslef, BFAWU, BMA, Equity, FBU, GFTU, IWGB, NEU, POA, PCS, TSSA and UVW were among the signatories.

Henry Fowler, co-founder of Strike Map, which helped organise the picket, said: ”This level of co-ordinated solidarity from unions with a group of striking workers has not been seen in a generation.

”The bin workers’ strike continues to remind us of the immense power of the trade union movement when acting together.”

Earlier in the dispute, Birmingham City Council suggested firefighters could be brought in to help clear up rubbish and provide scab labour to undermine the strike.

But FBU leader Steve Wright instead declared his union’s ”full solidarity” with refuse workers.

On signing the letter, he said: “We have always rejected the idea that firefighters would ever be used to undermine this dispute and help the council through this strike action.

”We urge the council and commissioners to rebuild our local services with government support — by first ending this attack on the Birmingham bin workers.”

The government and Birmingham City Council have been contacted for comment.