Industrial action by refuse staff in Brighton and Hove has started this morning.

The entire 300-strong workforce based at Hollingdean Depot, the headquarters of Brighton and Hove City Council's CityClean waste services, have begun a work-to-rule over council plans to cut their wages by up to £8,000 each.

The average wage of the binmen, recycling collectors, street-sweepers and mechanics based there is £19,000. Some have been threatened with having their wages reduced to around £13,000.

Others said their pay had reached £22,000 after almost two decades of service and would be reduced to £14,000 if the council goes ahead with its plans.

Dozens of the workforce remained at the depot in Upper Hollingdean Lane this morning because of concerns about defects with the council's rubbish trucks.

The terms of the work-to-rule meant they were unwilling to go to work in vehicles which were not in satisfactory condition.

Mechanics were attending to some of the trucks but the problems meant hundreds of homes will not have had their refuse or recycling collected today.

The GMB union, which represents the workers, has already announced a full week-long strike will start on Monday.

The council has proposed the cut to try to even out wages between its unskilled workforce. At present binmen are paid significantly more than teaching assistants and librarian assistants, for example. New equalities legislation meant the council had to make compensation payments of up to £20,000 each to workers who had been underpaid by comparison to others.

The binmen said they were being made to pay for other people's mistakes.