My partner has been working as a Brighton binman since January 2003.

He has been employed by Catalyst, an employment agency, and the terms and conditions on short-term contracts provided by the agency are not equal to those employed by Brighton and Hove City Council.

They have no sick pay or holiday pay, as this is apparently included in the wage, which is still lower than those on a contract with the council.

The agency used by the council to provide "cheap labour" has recently changed to Hays Montrose. My partner and many others who have worked on the bins for months, if not years, now find themselves with a dramatic drop in their wage.

It is deemed acceptable by the council that doing one of the most unpleasant yet crucial jobs in the city is worth approximately £190 per week. That includes any sickness or holiday pay - if they don't work, they don't get paid.

The problems with the refuse service have been well documented. The council brought the service back in-house to prevent further problems, yet feels able to pay a paltry wage to those doing the work,

while, I dare, say the agency itself is making a fine profit.

Meanwhile, my partner has a take-home wage of approximately £130 a week, for the same work.

We all have rent or mortgages to pay for living in the "Place to Be".

Those of us who live in the real world are becoming an underclass in this city, while the city itself succumbs to grime. The streets are filthy and the litter problem gets worse, not better.

And the council's only solution is to provide worse pay and conditions.

If the council pays for a second-class service, that is what it will get. And remember - it's not the residents of Brighton who pay for second-class service, we have to pay one of the highest rates of council tax in the country.

This week the agency staff at the Hollingbury depot have been told they are "no longer required".

My partner has not only been sacked, he was not even allowed to set foot in the depot to be told this in person.

Agency employees have no rights whatsoever and our council not only supports this treatment of workers but also claims it has nothing to

do with it - it is purely a matter for the agency.

Fiona Wilding

-Buller Road, Brighton