00:00So today is the second day of industrial action over equal pay in the council.
00:04This has been going on for almost two decades now and these people that are
00:08here today they've had enough. They want to know that they're getting paid
00:11equally to the male-dominated areas of the council. They want to know that
00:15they're not being undervalued anymore.
00:17Here in Birmingham support staff including
00:20teaching assistants and catering workers have gathered to protest against the
00:24ongoing equal pay dispute with Birmingham City Council. The strike
00:28action is expected to affect schools across the city.
00:31So after the 14th of May industrial action, that day of action we had then, we
00:37were able to move forward a little bit with the council. We started having
00:40proper meetings and talking to them but that was three, four months ago. We
00:47should be much further along if we're having proper meaningful meetings and we
00:52need to see that soon.
00:53The workers are demanding progress on their pay claims
00:56which have been unresolved for months. The GMB union says delays by Birmingham
01:00City Council have pushed many to the brink, unable to keep up with the rising
01:05cost of living.
01:06For a lot of our girls they're running multiple jobs to make
01:09ends meet. They'll be cleaners, they'll be
01:14lunchtime supervisors, they'll work other jobs besides and they're
01:19having to do that to make ends meet and it's not fair.
01:22As the strike continues
01:24and so many schools face closure, the question remains what is the general
01:28reception of people across the city who have to deal with the disruption?
01:32Well I was out on a picket line protest at Colmore infants this morning and yeah
01:38we had people beeping their horns, we had the teachers as well waving and beeping
01:42their horns, parents as well saying keep on, keep going because the people of
01:47Birmingham are in a very precarious situation at the moment. All of these
01:50people work and live in Birmingham for the majority as well so they're feeling
01:54the cuts as much as anyone but they know that they're not being paid equally
01:57to people in other areas of the council.
Comments