‘THERE’S no mention of the massive £8,000 pay cut. If it’s not satisfactory we’re quite prepared to reject this deal and vote to stay out,’ striking Birmingham binworker Tom Brady told News Line yesterday.
He was speaking after the Unite union issued a statement that a new deal had been proposed.
About 300 Birmingham bin workers have been on all-out indefinite strike for over a year against attempts by the council to cut their pay by around £8,000 per annum.
Striking binworker Wendy Yarnould told News Line: ‘I was a Grade 3 worker. We came out to keep our grades and that still stands. There is no mention of the £8,000 pay cut in this proposed settlement.
‘We’ve got to stay strong now to get what we’ve been fighting for all this time.
‘I live in Birmingham. The rents have gone up and the council tax has gone up. I’ve got a family. I will lose my home if I have this pay cut.’
The Unite leadership yesterday issued a press release promoting capitulation to the wage-cutting Labour Birmingham City Council on the eve of their likely defeat in the local elections on 7th May.
Their press release read: ‘The Birmingham council statement today by leader John Cotton – in relation to an improved offer based on the “ballpark” deal agreed at the conciliation service Acas and blocked by government commissioners – is a vindication of the bin workers’ struggle for a decent deal following their job evaluation regrading.
‘This move shows the power of workers and how that can be realised when they are backed by their union.
‘It is an absolute abhorrence that this deal has been blocked not just once but twice by unelected unaccountable commissioners and officers at Birmingham City Council, who enjoy eye watering pay packets and no consequence for their actions.
‘The commissioner model is a licence for a few unelected individuals to print money and play games.
‘The reason the offer has not yet been completed and gone to our members is because at the eleventh hour the government-backed commissioners attempted to stop it, which has led to today’s statement of intent by the leader of the council.
‘Negotiations took place over the last few months to get the original Acas deal back on track, between: Sharon Graham general secretary of Unite, John Cotton leader of the council, and Richard Parker mayor of West Midlands, facilitated by Lord Brendan Barber.
‘The roles played by mayor Parker and Lord Barber should be recognised as they very quickly saw that the deal was both reasonable and doable.
‘But, ultimately, it was the resolve of striking workers and their union that has got this ballpark deal back on the table.
‘The full details of the deal will remain confidential awaiting the detailed offer from the council and it will have to be voted on by the bin workers.
‘The broad outline of the ballpark deal is:
- The deal mirroring the Acas ballpark agreement means that workers would get not six months cushion from the impacts of the job evaluation process but a minimum of two years;
- Striking agency workers with 12 months plus of employment on the contract will be offered a path to permanent employment;
- Disciplinary issues will be quashed and the gross misconduct issue reviewed;
- For pension purposes the dispute will be treated as authorised absence;
‘Legal action on both sides will be ended.
‘There will now be a series of meetings to complete the offer and if it is reneged on in anyway then the union will escalate the dispute.’
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: ‘As I have said on many occasions, the workers come first and we will always do everything in our power to ensure that our members are treated with dignity and respect.
‘The move made today by the leader of the council is a vindication of the bin workers’ struggle for a decent deal.
‘Over the last few months, there have been intense negotiations to get the blocked “ballpark” deal back on the table, so that our members could vote on it.
‘The reason why we are not yet at that stage is purely down to the vindictive interference of the government-backed commissioners who have attempted to block the deal again and clearly overstepped their remit.
‘Their lack of both experience and industrial relations competence has been a major factor in this dispute, and their malevolent game playing has been an absolute disgrace.
‘The commissioner model is a licence for a few unelected individuals to print money and play games.
‘They have let the workers down, the people of Birmingham down and the council down.
‘I salute the fortitude of my members who have needlessly been forced to endure months of attacks and hardship to get us to this point.
‘I thank mayor Richard Parker and Lord Brendan Barber for the important roles both have played in getting us to this point.
‘And I thank the people of Birmingham for their continued patience and support.’