Birmingham bin strikers fighting race to the bottom
Striking Birmingham bin workers have rejected a one off non-consolidated cash offer from Birmingham council but only if they accept a brutal permanent pay cut.
More than 350 refuse workers began strike action in January over the scrapping of the safety critical Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, which means pay cuts of up to £8,000 for 150 workers.
The workers, who have already voluntarily accepted cuts to pay and terms and conditions to assist the council after it effectively declared bankruptcy, fear further attacks on jobs and wages.
Negotiations to end the dispute are being hampered due to the influence of commissioners, who were appointed by the previous government to oversee massively damaging budget reductions.
Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘The working people of Birmingham did not create this crisis and should not be made to pay for it.
‘At the moment, the commissioners seem to be blindly imposing the last government’s slash and burn policies against Birmingham and it is just making things worse.
‘Ministers should now step in. Cutting vital public services to the bone and victimising workers is not what Labour was elected to do.’
The workers started taking strike action on Monday February 17 and yesterday 18, and further strike days will be tomorrow 20, then 25, 26 and 27 February; 3rd, 4th, 6th, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 28 and 31 March; and 2nd and 4th April. Further industrial action will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved.
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: ‘Any confidence Birmingham’s refuse workers had that the commissioner-led reform was about turning a basket-case service into a functional one is gone.
‘The service is chronically short staffed but the council has offered every full-time employee voluntary redundancy. At the same time, management continues to throw money down the drain on expensive employment agencies. Recycling is almost non-existent – not because of the strikes but because the lorries don’t work.
‘It’s glaringly obvious to both staff and residents, that the service is an unholy mess and is being driven further and further into the ground.
‘It is time central government intervened over this race-to-the-bottom against jobs and services.’
Isle of Dogs education workers to strike
THE GMB union has opened a ballot for members at St Luke’s Church of England Primary School in East London after the school put forward plans to cut more than 20 per cent of teaching assistant roles.
A recent indicative ballot saw over 90 per cent of GMB members at the school vote for strike action.
Under the proposals, six of the 27 teaching assistants employed by the school would be made redundant.
A further two agency teaching assistants will not have their contracts renewed.
The school, located on the Isle of Dogs, has a significant number of pupils with special educational needs.
The proposed redundancies raise questions about how well those pupils will be supported with fewer staff in the classroom.
The ballot will close on Tuesday 4th March.
Jasmin Deans, GMB Regional Organiser, said: ‘Our members are dedicated to their jobs and the children they support.
‘They deserve better than to face the anxiety and uncertainty of wondering if they will lose the job they love.
‘These proposed job cuts will leave remaining staff with even heavier workloads
and have a direct impact on the quality of children’s education.’
Go North East bosses ‘out of control’
Out-of-control management at a bus company in the North East of England has forced over 1,000 workers to be consulted on possible strike action, the Unite union has announced.
Drivers and engineers at Go North East, based in depots across Tyneside, Northumberland and County Durham, have been forced to the brink by a dangerous management culture that has seen drivers threatened with dismissal, suspended and sent home from work when health and safety issues are raised.
Workers have been forced to resign, and management has imposed what one worker described as a ‘dictatorship’ with ‘my way or the highway’ style practices.
Go North East has created a culture of fear to discourage members raising genuine safety concerns on behalf of passengers and drivers.
Such behaviour is widely seen by union members as retribution by management after workers won a well-deserved pay rise after a bitter industrial battle in 2023.
Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Go North East has a track record of appalling management practices but it has plumbed new depths with this latest reign of terror that has seen workers, including union reps, forced to sign paperwork under threats of dismissal.
‘We have members who have been threatened with dismissal or forced to resign due to such Dickensian working practices, and despite attempts by our reps and officers to find a way forward, such a vindictive approach to the workforce has left little choice but to consult with our membership on next steps.’
Last month, seven members of staff who had raised concerns over health and safety procedures were sent home from work and six were then given final written warnings.
Two felt under such pressure that they had no choice but to resign. Two were union reps and were instantly ‘de-recognised’ from their elected workplace roles.
Upon returning to work this week, one raised additional concerns over passenger safety after CCTV on his double decker bus was discovered not to be working.
But after returning to the depot and asking for a replacement vehicle he was sent home and now faces possible dismissal.
Workers are now being consulted and surveyed over all the ongoing issues at the depots.
Potential strike action would see bus services in the area grounded for the second time in as many years.
Go North East is already struggling to maintain services due to a shortage of engineers and because higher-standard buses are being sent to the Go North West sister-company who recently won a franchise in Manchester.
Unite regional officer Dave Telford added: ‘Once again, communities are being betrayed by Go North East.
‘Our members live and work in this area and the working conditions they now face are so unreasonable they are considering strike action.
‘Passengers are being put in danger by this approach to safety.
‘Deciding to de-recognise our reps is an act of absurd cowardice. Imagine if unions refused to deal with managers who they didn’t like.
‘This is a dispute of Go North East’s own making, in petty revenge for the workers getting a decent pay deal.
‘And it will have to answer to the pensioners, the parents and the business owners who will be let down when the buses stop running.’
Hundreds of Scottish Water workers vote to strike
Hundreds of Scottish Water staff have backed strike action in a pay dispute.
The GMB, Unite and Unison unions said their members voted for walkouts and action short of a strike such as an overtime ban.
The ballot closed on Monday with results published after it emerged Scottish Water’s executive team was awarded £329,000 in bonuses and benefits in 2023/24.
Members of the three unions were balloted when talks collapsed after a 3.4% pay rise offer from the publicly owned utility company was rejected.
Last month, Scottish Water announced bills in Scotland were to rise by 9.9% in April.
More than 60% of those voting at each union backed a strike – 65% at Unison, 67% at GMB and 71% at Unite – while more than 70% backed action short of a strike – at 73%, 67% and 80% respectively.
Unison represents more than 1,000 workers at Scottish Water and had a 69% turnout, while 61% of GMB members voted and Unite said there was a ‘high turnout’ of its 500 members.
Unison Scotland regional organiser Emma Phillips said: ‘No one wants to disrupt services. Scottish Water staff know the provision of clean, fresh water and dealing with sewage for homes and businesses is vital, but feel they have no choice.
‘Their pay has not kept up with inflation over the past 10 years, and most staff get paid less than £31,000 per year.
‘By contrast, senior managers ensure their own annual pay is measured in hundreds of thousands of pounds.
‘What’s needed is a sensible solution that gives hard-working staff a pay rise that’s fair.’
Claire Greer, GMB Scotland organiser, said: ‘Our members are again being forced to fight for a fair pay rise from a company where the top executives are taking home record bonus payments.’
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Unite’s 500-strong membership at Scottish Water is angry at the double standards gripping the executives of the public body.
‘The strong backing for industrial action should come as no surprise with executive pay hitting eye-watering levels while a poor pay offer remains on the table.’
