Just what is this all about anyway?

Could somebody please tell the general public walking through all this mess what this strike is all about?

In this day and age you can’t just slash somebody’s wages by thousands – there has to be more to this than we are being told.

If you work for local government, it’s better than the private sector. Privately, you don’t have much of a choice when you’re told your job is going to be done by somebody in China or India.

Perhaps that’s what the Greens have got up their sleeves.

Mr A Gumbrill, Chapel Mews, Hove

It’s an allowance issue, not a pay issue

The Cityclean strike is certainly going to divide opinion across the city, but there does seem to be some misunderstanding about why it is happening, despite The Argus explaining the issue.

It’s not about basic pay. The council is not reducing people’s basic pay. In that instance I’m sure the whole workforce would strike and I would support them.

This is about what some people earn above their basic pay for working unsocial hours, nights or weekends.

I heard an HGV driver recently saying his pay was too low for the job that he does, but that’s not what the strike is about.

There are many workers across the council who believe they are worth more and want more. This begs the question, what exactly have Cityclean employees been told by the GMB Union?

Refuse collection has always been an issue for the council.

Let’s not forget the service was outsourced some years ago, but due to severe difficulties was brought back in to the council.

It was at this time that the council should have got to grips with the situation, but it seems senior managers bottled it.

The allowances issue has to be tackled and it does seem to me that once again Cityclean is holding the city to ransom because it knows how important the service is, particularly at this time of the year.

At the moment you have a situation where people are receiving different payments for doing similar duties, which is unfair.

A £4,000 loss amount has been mentioned, but the Union hasn’t said how many people would be affected, what their viable alternative is, how this would be fair and equitable for all staff and how it can be afforded.

The council is not a private company with profit margins; it is a public organisation which has a duty to residents to ensure their money is spent appropriately.

It would be interesting to see what the result of a strike ballot would be if the whole workforce (under the main two unions, GMB and Unison) had the opportunity to vote about changes to allowance payments.

Jonathan Armitt, Norton Road, Hove

We should create designated dumping sites

Is it beyond the Green council to find an interim solution to the problem of rubbish building up?

Here’s an idea: every year we have designated sites for the disposal of Christmas trees. Use them for waste disposal units.

This would be much easier for residents than Brighton and Hove City Council asking them to take rubbish to two sites – Wilson Avenue and Shoreham – at the extremities of the city.

I already hear cries of rat infestation. This would be contained if we had localised disposal sites instead of rubbish gathering in every street.

At these sites we could also have fumigation facilities.

People will ask what happens to localised refuse sites once the dispute is over. Simply, the council would clear them. If this wasn’t through Cityclean, we could do what I did in a North East authority in the 1970s and bring in private contractors.

Residents come first and foremost before any union, councillor, paid officers or ideology.

Listen to what people are saying in the streets.

With the tourist season approaching, let’s make our city one to be proud of, not a second-rate slum.

I welcome The Argus’s coverage of this problem and hope it can help our city to resolve the rubbish problems because it appears our councillors and officers are unable to.

Joe Tansey, Coldean Lane, Brighton

A tourist says, 'I may not return to your city'

Last weekend I visited Brighton for the first time – some friends and I came to watch Sir Cliff Richard and I stayed in a hotel for the night.

My plan was to have breakfast outside one of the cafes nearby.

However, what I saw was mounds of rubbish and detritus left over from Saturday night revellers: empty takeaway cartons, bottles, nightclub leaflets, playing cards and shoes.

I decided to get away as quickly as possible.

Presumably a lot of Brighton’s economy is based on tourism. I for one will have to think carefully before I return and I wonder how many others thought the same.

No tourists means no income for many businesses. They then go under, meaning less in business rates for the council and less in the pot to pay for services.

I can’t believe that MPs and councillors are backing a strike.

If I were a resident or business in Brighton I would be livid.

Georgina Turner, Kingsbridge, Devon

So we’re all in this together, are we?

We must have had binmen in this city for 50 or 60 years employed by the council and yet in the middle of a harsh recession the powers that be, in their wisdom, decide this is the optimum time to cut people’s wages.

It’s absolutely disgraceful that well-heeled council chiefs and councillors have made this decision at this time.

Incidently, you never hear of them taking a cut in their pay – we are all in this together, aren’t we?

Peter Boyden, Gladys Road, Hove

The Greens must not yield to demands

I have, over many years, gained the impression that unions have run rings around previous Tory and Labour administrations.

Simple disputes have always escalated into confrontation, with the union usually winning.

While I would be the last to defend the Greens, at least they seem to be standing up to the union and trying to sort out the mess they inherited.

With goodwill and common sense on both sides, the few losers can be compensated until they retire or leave, with new employees coming within the new terms and conditions of employment.

For this to happen, however, the Greens need to signal their determination not to cave in to threats and the resulting strike.

On their performance so far (travellers, demonstrations and cycle lanes) I have little confidence that they will...

D Hillman, Rigden Road, Hove

Bring on the 2015 local elections...

The chaos in our city is fairly and squarely the responsibility of its citizens and the voters.

People voted in the Green Party and we cannot wait until the 2015 elections.

The Greens must resign now and by-elections must be called.

Are they afraid to face the electors and justify their policies?

Michael Kennedy, Chichester Terrace, Brighton

What do you think? Email letters@theargus.co.uk while we're covering the strike and have your say