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The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain

Birmingham Bin Battles

by New Worker correspondent

THERE HAVE been some intriguing developments in the long running Birmingham bin workers strike. The workers have been on strike since the start of the year in protest at fire and rehire which would see workers lose up to £8,000. They have recently renewed their strike mandate which will allow them to continue industrial action until March next year.

The council has paid mil lions to operate partial refuse collections during the strikes despite it costing a fraction of that to resolve the dispute and resume normal waste and recycling services.

Long before the strike began the Labour-controlled council had employed agency workers, some for over a decade without being offered permanent roles. Now these workers are also getting in on the act.

A manager from Job & Talent, the agency used by the city council, was caught telling its staff at the Atlas Depot that the council will bar them from permanent jobs if they join the strike.

While the agency piously declared that “we do not engage in or condone any form of blacklisting, and no worker is or would be denied employment opportunities on the basis of lawful participation in industrial action” and said the manager’s views did not reflect company policy, it is clear he was reflecting the views of the council, and that the threats were illegal.

Fifteen agency workers have now refused to cross the picket lines. They talk about a “toxic workplace culture” and managers threatening disciplinary action and the sack to pressure them into meeting excessive workloads. This is partly due to the fact that, as a result of the strike, there are no recycling or garden waste collections. Refuse therefore ends up in a single bin, often very heavy and overflowing.

A necessarily anonymous agency worker said “I have been an agency worker on the bins for nine years and have never been considered for a full-time job. Me and my colleagues in the last two months have been bullied and victimised and constantly put under pressure to complete our rounds and undertake extra work or face the threat of a disciplinary or the sack”.

These revelations have only increased the resolve of workers. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said “Birmingham’s bin workers are well aware that there is something rotten at the top of the council. … “Ministers must act now to stop this ap palling behaviour and bring this dispute to an end with a fair deal for the bin workers. The strikes will not end until it does”.

Equal Pay

Also, in the city with more canals than in Venice, there is better news that some 3,000 Unison and GMB have won a significant equal pay victory following a deal in December that has only now been finalised.

The two unions took the council and Birmingham Children’s Trust to court in 2012 and the council lost an equal pay appeal that October. A fresh wave of claims were launched in 2021 which lead to a pay ballot in August 2022.

The issue was that low paid workers, largely women such as teaching assistants, catering staff and care workers were underpaid compared with male workers in other roles. The council claims that its effective bankruptcy in 2023 was due to having to pay £760 million to settle outstanding equal pay claims, relating to the previous under-payment of its female workers.

Speaking for Unison, Claire Campbell said the deal was “a turning point for hundreds of low-paid women, who have waited far too long for justice”. She added that “when I was appointed as leader two years ago, I labelled equal pay the single biggest challenge that the council has faced and vowed to deal with the matter once and for all. This victory for low-paid women will resonate far beyond Birmingham. It sends a powerful message that equality at work is not optional, it’s a fundamental right. It’s a reminder that when women stand together to demand fairness, real change can happen”.

Her colleague in GMB, Megan Fisher, said “after years of discrimination and being paid less than they were worth, [the female staff] stood up and demanded what was theirs” before doffing her cap to unnecessarily thank the council for its “constructive approach to negotiations”.

While the details remain confidential, the council said the agreement will: “Avoid the time and expense of litigation, and without admission of liability by the council”. Tony McArdle, the lead commissioner, appointed by the government to oversee the council as it attempts to fix its finances, said that while the pay dispute had “cost the council dearly, this agreement presents a real opportunity for the council to limit further costs and to positively reset its relationship with its staff and trade unions”.