Birmingham mega picket ‘shows the power of the people’

Workers aren’t willing to ‘curl over’ just because of the council’s pressure (Photo: Guy Smallman)

Hundreds of striking bin workers and supporters have dealt a blow to Birmingham’s Labour-run council.

Mass pickets forced bosses to shut all three depots in the city on Friday. It was the third “mega picket” since workers went on indefinite strike last March.

And at the Tom White depot in nearby Coventry, people were walking in front of the entrance, blocking the scab lorries.

The Unite union members are fighting against pay cuts of up to £8,000 a year.

Outside the Atlas depot, striker Bob told Socialist Worker, “Morale has been hard, but this has helped.

“The protests have been doing an excellent job,” he added, referencing the ongoing “slow-walking” in front of scab bin lorries and the mega pickets.

He said workers weren’t willing to “curl over” and go back just because of the council’s pressure.

On Thursday, the day before the mega picket, the council shut down the depots on “health and safety grounds”. Victories such as this are important in putting pressure back on the council in the long-running dispute.

“The council shutting the depots is a win really. Days like this are really uplifting,” striker Richard told Socialist Worker. “It shows the power of the people.”

But, Richard added that “it can be a bit deflating when we’re just standing by watching the trucks drive out”. Workers have struggled to block the depot entrances due to the council getting a court injunction—a court order that stops picketing.

And the Unite union leadership has relied on a legal strategy rather than mass defiance.

“People here have made a choice to strike,” he said. “So, I think most of us are willing to see this out until the end.”

A recent report showed that the Birmingham council has spent over £33 million trying to break the near year-long strike.

“It shows its mindset, what it’s really up to,” Richard argued. “It could have solved this for a lot less money—and yet here we are.”

One Unite rep told Socialist Worker the strikes had been “swings and roundabouts”.

“When we get days like this it just gives us the little boost we need to keep going until the next big turnout,” he added.

There was a wave of support at all three depots. Unison, FBU, NEU, RMT, Bfawu, CWU and other trade unions all supported the action. Both Your Party MP Zarah Sultana and Green Party leader Zack Polanski joined the mega picket, and supporters came from London, Manchester, Sheffield and elsewhere.

Gawain Little, general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions slammed Labour, saying that the “political vacuum” it has created will be filled by the far right.

As Richard said, the cuts are part of a “wider story”, led by a “terrible Labour government that no one likes”.

Laura Verdasco, part of the Unison union branch at the AQA exam board, said the Birmingham strike had “inspired” her union to strike.

“When I talk to my branch, I use this strike to show the example of workers standing up,” she said.

After being on all out strike since March last worker, strikers have shown resilience. Some workers have taken voluntary redundancy, but many of those were close to retirement.

The majority remain firm on the picket lines.

There is still room for escalation. In November, some agency workers the council was using to break the strike joined Unite’s picket lines over bullying and abuse. More have come out since, putting a dent in the council’s scabbing operation.

And, the street cleaners in Birmingham could ballot soon, which would add strength to the strike.

Birmingham council is showing no signs of ending its assault on workers. It has abandoned negotiations.

The way to win is by deepening solidarity in the trade union movement, bringing more agency workers onto the strike and building strikers’ confidence to be more disruptive.

Building solidarity within the Birmingham labour movement is vital. Mass pickets show the power of solidarity—but that has to be deepened if the city itself is to break the cycle of victories followed by a downturn in morale.

Trade unions in Birmingham should mobilise regularly to join the picket lines and block scabs.

• Workers’ names have been changed