THE 400 STRIKING Birmingham bin workers held a ‘mega-picket’ on Friday 25th July, with trade unionists travelling from all over the country and arriving at the picket lines at the four sites in the city from 6am.
The Birmingham bin workers have been on an all-out indefinite strike since April against attempts by the Labour Council to cut their pay by between £8,000 and £12,000 a year.
The Birmingham Labour Council is attacking the binworkers under the direction of unelected ‘commissioners’ on vast salaries who were brought in to run the council by the previous Tory government in Westminster.
The Labour government which was elected last year, instead of sacking the commissioners, has kept them on with PM Starmer and especially Deputy PM Angela Rayner outspokenly supporting their pay-cutting regime.
There was music and high spirits at the Atlas depot in Tyesley on Friday morning, with more than 300 strikers and supporters joining the mega-picket.
There were banners from Unite Scotland, Southend-on-Sea Unison, Barnet Unison, Hammersmith Unison, North Somerset National Education Union (NEU), Birmingham, Lambeth, Oxforshire & Northumberland NEU, Liverpool RMT, South London CWU, Waltham Forest Trades Council, Croydon Trades Council and merseyside pensioners.
First speaker at the 7am rally was Martin Cavanagh, PCS union, who told the crowd: ‘You have inspired the UK working class.
‘This is an abhorrent government attacking the working class. Here in Birmingham you’ve got a council and a government that you can’t trust trying to maintain a broken capitalist system.
‘Angela Rayner has made a career claiming to be on the side of workers when she’s no such thing.
‘Facilities workers in Whitehall who have been on strike for over a year have just won a historic victory. You are an inspiration to millions of workers.’
Mark Harper, South Midlands CWU Regional Secretary, told the rally: ‘We at Royal Mail are fully behind the bin workers. It’s a disgrace what Labour is doing to working people.
‘Angela Rayner often says she started off as a union rep as a single mother on a council estate – before stabbing you in the back. Disgrace!’
Jordan Rivera, a Unison Rep from Homerton Hospital in east London brought a cheque for £500 for the Birmingham strike fund.
She called for and received a huge cheer for the striking resident doctors and said: ‘You’re being treated so badly. It’s the same in the NHS. We’re facing the same treatment.
‘Doctors are right to fight for pay restoration, We’re disgusted that the man in charge of the NHS, Wes Streeting, is out to smash it up.
‘We fully support the doctors. Other unions in the NHS are also balloting.
‘Just as we support the doctors, we support the Birmingham binworkers. Labour are an utter disappointment.
‘We have to bring in sanctions against Israel now.
‘Keep going. Don’t give up.’
Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn told the rally that he was visiting all the picket lines and said: ‘It wasn’t the bin workers who got the finances of Birmingham in a mess. They are the ones who keep the city clean.
‘Birmingham is not isolated and is not alone. Urban cities across the UK face the same issues.
‘If we win in Birmingham it’s a huge victory. But if we lose, think of what will happen across the UK.
‘We can find money for war but want to take money off the disabled, the poor, mothers, the public sector and workers who make people’s lives better.
‘We’ve just launched a new party, it’s your party. It’s a pleasure to be here.’
John Reddiford, NEU Executive member, from Bristol, said: ‘I’m here to bring support from half a million NEU members.
‘It is absolutely essential that you win your dispute. The council are doing the dirty work for the Labour government.
‘We are not just up against the council but against the genocide-supporting Labour government.’
On the picket line, striker and Unite member Dave Callaghan said: ‘What a turnout. There are 300 here today easily and that is replicated at the other sites. There are no wagons going out at all today.
I’m proud we’re striking alongside the doctors, who are fighting for our NHS.
‘My wife’s just had a knee replacement operation and they treated her like a queen.
‘We are calling for a general strike to bring down Starmer.’
Dave’s wife, Teresa Farmer said: ‘I’m self-employed and I’ve been off work to have a knee op, so the strike pay is our only income.
‘What is the point in the Labour Party with these dirty politics from Starmer?
‘I’m wearing a Free Palestine T-shirt on the picket line here today because it’s genocide and it’s not part of me and it’s another reason to say shame on Keir Starmer. Our silence as a nation is painful.’
Striker and Unite member, Kevin Thompson said: ‘We’ve had brilliant speeches to support our strike.
‘Birmingham is the biggest council in Europe and if we go down it will be like the domino effect and they’ll cut workers wages across the country.
‘We’re fighting for all public sector workers. I’d welcome a national strike. It would have to be a joint thing with all the unions.’
Striker and Unite member Jim Jones said: ‘It’s uplifting to see the support here today. We#ve got Manchester, Liverpool, London, Glasgow.
‘This is a test case for what’s to come and what is being pushed out across the country.
‘We’re the biggest council in Europe and the Birmingham refuse workers have always held significant weight with industrial action before.
‘I think they believe that if they can take the Birmingham binworkers down that everyone else will be a pushover.
‘The vast majority of the public supports us and we have to mobilise that support in a general strike.’
On the coach on the way back to London, Luke Daniels, Islington Unite and President of Caribbean Labour Solidarity said: ‘Next Friday there’s a march from Windrush Square in Brixton to Parliament at 11am to demand reparations for African enslavement. All are welcome.
‘It was a fantastic turnout of workers from all over the country today. An attack on one worker is an attack on all workers and the TUC should be supporting the Birmingham bin workers more.’
Kachanda Irwin, a primary school teacher and NEU member from Lambeth in south London, said: ‘The Birmingham bin strike is not just their struggle, it’s for all of us.
‘The lack of funding affecting them affects all public services.
‘The spirit on the picket line today was great, especially as they’ve been fighting for so long.
‘To see so many unions and movements represented is inspiring.
‘There must be a general strike against austerity. It’s a massive problem which can’t be fixed locally. It requires national action.’
