Birmingham bin strike could last until December

Nearly 400 Birmingham bin workers facing brutal pay cuts have voted to continue industrial action, in a ballot result announced on 5 June.

The ballot, which resulted in 97 per cent of workers voting in favour of strike action on a 75 per cent turnout, means strike action could last until December, according to Unite.

Strikes began in January after the council told the bin workers they would face pay cuts of up to £8,000 – a quarter of their wages for some. The devastating cuts will leave many unable to pay their bills, rents and mortgages.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said after the ballot result was announced: “After smearing these workers in public since January and telling them to accept a fair and reasonable offer that never existed, the council finally put a proposal in writing last week.

“True to form, the proposal came weeks late and was not in line with the ballpark offer discussed during Acas talks in May. It had been watered down by the government commissioners and the leader of the council despite them never having been in the negotiations.

“It beggars belief that a Labour government and Labour council is treating these workers so disgracefully. It is hardly surprising that so many working people are asking whose side Labour is on.

“The decision makers at Birmingham council need to get in the room and put forward an acceptable offer. Unite will not allow these workers to be financially ruined – the strikes will continue for as long as it takes. Unite calls on the decision makers to let common sense prevail in upcoming negotiations.”

At the end of May, the High Court ruled that an interim injunction would continue until the end of the strike, meaning workers can no longer legally obstruct scab bin lorries.

Despite this, and the Council’s scab operation, the strike has stayed solid: more workers have joined the strike than have gone back to work.

But there is a sense that the action is losing some of its momentum and that leadership from Unite, at both national and local levels, is lacking.

An elected strike committee would provide a forum for the discussion of tactics and what the “red lines” should be in negotiations. Regular mass meetings would also help boost morale, involve the rank and file in decision making and keep the workforce united in the face of the council’s attacks.

The injunction is a real threat to the strike. Picket lines are sparser now, and the council’s scab operation is in full flow.

The council is reliably estimated to have spent close to £1m so far on policing the strike. And that figure doesn’t include legal fees, private security and overtime payments to scab agency crews.

Donate to the strike fund – Unite WM/7186 Branch, account: 20308397, sort code: 608301. Title BCC Strike Donation.