Employees including bin men could go on strike

Unions claim road workers, street cleaners, bin men and other manual employees could lose up to 50% of their total pay under the new deal.

The council wants to overhaul its whole pay structure to reduce long-standing wage inequality among staff.

It claims the changes would mean a more "flexible and fair" work place for all.

But there are no guarantees that manual staff will still get bonuses on top of their basic salaries so significant pay cuts could be on the cards, unions say.

Services disrupted

The new pay structure document will be presented to the city council's cabinet for final approval on Monday.

Terry Mills, single status coordinator for the Birmingham Unison branch, said the city council was "behaving unreasonably."

"Official postal ballots will be arranged and it's with regret that frontline public services could be disrupted but this is a big issue," he said.

Councillor Alan Rudge, cabinet member for equalities and human resources, said: "The new pay structure will not only right the wrongs of the past 30 years but also underpin our commitment to both our staff and the people of Birmingham.

"We will deliver high quality services through a properly paid and supported workforce and consign the unfair and unequal practices of the past to the history books."