On the picket line in Birmingham
Bin workers in Birmingham have staged another solid picket and blocked scab lorries.
Hundreds of Unite union members have been on all-out strike for ten weeks against the Labour council’s plans to slash their pay.
On the picket line at Atlas Depot on Wednesday morning, two scab lorries tried to leave just before 6am.
Striker Roger told Socialist Worker, “One tried to get out—we blocked them.”
After an argument, the lorry backed up. Two more vans lined up idly behind the picket line.
“That kind of confrontation doesn’t happen often,” striker Walt told Socialist Worker. “He came racing down there like a bull in a china shop, which obviously gets our backs up.
“We’re trying to get him in the union, to stand with us and fight the battle.”
The mass picket at the Lifford Lane depot at the beginning of the month has clearly inspired class confidence.
Hundreds of bin strikers, trade unionists, students and campaigners joined the “mega picket” called by We Demand Change, Strike Map and others.
That forced bosses to close the depot in a powerful response to the Labour council’s strike-breaking operation.
The council, at the behest of the Labour government, had used the police to break up picket lines.
The mass picket marked a shift from the strategy of the Unite union leaders who had promised a “legal challenge” to the council using police.
Walt added, “The problem is that Unite isn’t saying anything, they aren’t telling us anything.
“Their last meeting went on for 12 hours—but we’re still in the dark about what happened, and what’s going to happen.”
“We really aren’t getting told much,” striker Shaun told Socialist Worker. “Since the last offer, Unite hasn’t been talking to us.”
Workers rejected a pay offer in April by 98 percent. It was an overwhelming rejection, showing the mood to fight—but Unite has been unclear about negotiations since.
Shaun said, “Unite has been quiet, and they haven’t said much, especially since we started blocking the lorries again. It would be helpful to know what’s happening, it’s important.
“It has been a bit fifty-fifty. But we aren’t going anywhere because this is people’s livelihood.”
“This is completely wrong,” Walt added. “They’re taking money off us. We’re giving them our lives, working in all kinds of nasty conditions—and in return they turn round to try and nick our grading.”
“We’ve got to pay our bills. Some lads have been here nearly 30 years. I’ve been here 17—it’s a joke.”
Workers have been blocking scab vehicles since the “mega picket”. On Monday morning, workers also made sure that bin lorries struggled to leave at all. Socialist Worker received reports that no lorries left the Atlas depot in Tyseley or Lifford Lane.
Towards the end of the picket line on Wednesday, strikers gathered round a speaker to head Unite general secretary Sharon Graham speak on the radio.
“On 2 and 6 may there were talks, and the council was supposed to be giving us a deal in writing on 8 May,” Graham told BBC radio. “We were then told that the deal cannot come until the commissioners sign it off.
“The government is really the ones holding this up, because the commissioners are government commissioners—they work through the government.
“In 35 years of negotiations, I’ve never seen something so ridiculous. Twice now we’ve been told there’s a deal—and yet there isn’t a deal.
“Stop blaming everyday workers for a mess you have made,” she added.
Graham may have broken the silence, but Unite is pursuing the wrong strategy. The Unite leadership is pursuing negotiations, rather than building the size and strength of the picket lines.
The “mega picket” proved that mass pickets work. Workers have continually blocked bin lorries, disrupting the council’s scabbing operation. It is this strategy that makes the rubbish pile up and puts the pressure on the council. It is the way to win.
Some names have been changed
19 homes have been destroyed and at least 19 more damaged
Another Blairite gimmick
Human rights groups say the sentences are 'torture'
