Strikes by bin lorry drivers which will affect every single refuse collection have begun.

The GMB union begin work-to-rule action today which will see a ban on the 38 drivers working overtime or collecting excess waste.

Despite being less than 12% of the Cityclean workforce of 320, the striking drivers will bring collections to a standstill when they also go on strike on Monday.

The union said the one-day strike will take “every single refuse vehicle off the road”.

As drivers will continue to work to rule indefinitely, no backlogs of uncollected rubbish will be cleared.

Mark Turner, branch secretary of the GMB, said “38 individual refuse and recycling drivers will be carrying out action and every single refuse vehicle will be off the road on Monday.”

The strike is fuelled by a dispute over pay. Union bosses argue drivers are not in an adequate pay grade for their responsibilities.

The work-to-rule action is set to carry on until the dispute is resolved, with the union warning it could drag on for “months”.

Mr Turner said: “We are not asking for more money, it is a case of an increase in responsibility – we have uncovered there are people in the council being paid more for the same level of responsibility.”

A council spokesman said: “As crews are working to rule from Friday, collections across the city are likely to be affected.

“As Monday is an official strike day, there will be disruption to collections normally scheduled for that day.

"We advise residents to put their bins out on their normal scheduled day and we will endeavour to collect the refuse and recycling as soon as possible.

"As there will be a backlog of work, we will require extra resources to clear this but while crews are working to rule, delays are expected.”

Head of City Clean & Parks Richard Bradley said: “We met with the GMB union to try and reach a resolution and avoid industrial action.

"The council is unable to meet their demands of increasing the pay of refuse and recycling charge hand drivers as there have been no changes to these roles and this would break the council’s recognised job evaluation scheme.

"The Council has honoured the agreement made last year and many parts of the City Clean service are doing a fantastic job.

"We remain fully committed to discussions to try and prevent the disruption of service to residents. We have offered  to continue conversations with the GMB.”