Refuse workers in Birmingham held a mega picket in May (Pic: Guy Smallman)
Labour is facing off against two industrial disputes in Sheffield and Birmingham.
That confrontation will only get sharper as mega pickets are set to shut down the scab operation against both strikes.
Refuse workers in the Unite union are on all-out strike. In Sheffield, they have been out for over ten months to fight for union recognition. Bosses at Veolia refuse to recognise Unite at the Lumley Street depot.
In Birmingham, workers are striking against savage austerity cuts from the Labour-run council. The strike of nearly four months was triggered by the council’s plan to cut up to £8,000 from workers’ salaries.
It’s a vicious attack, and throughout the strike the council ramped up its attacks, trying to slash drivers’ wages as well.
The union leadership has limited both strikes. And both disputes are currently on the back foot.
In Sheffield, Veolia bosses are steadfast in their refusal to recognise Unite after ten months.
In Birmingham, the Unite leadership has focused entirely on negotiating a victory with a council, backed by Keir Starmer’s Labour, that is determined to push through the cuts.
And the council’s scab operation is backed by a court injunction that makes it illegal for workers to take disruptive action.
But on 9 May, a mega picket shut down the Lifford Lane depot. Following that, and the lifting of the interim court injunction, workers once again blocked scab lorries. It piled pressure onto the council, and workers were on the offensive. But now the interim injunction has been reinstated.
Two Sheffield strikers, Joe Diviney and Joel Mayfield, went to the Lifford Lane mega picket and were inspired by the action.
“A delegation of Sheffield bin workers and supporters attended the mega picket in Birmingham. We liked it and want to try something similar here”, they told Socialist Worker.
“We think now is the right time to ask for broader help from the wider movement beyond what can be mobilised in Sheffield or South Yorkshire alone.”
After months of all-out strike, rebuilding the momentum of the strikes is a crucial task.
At both Birmingham and Sheffield, workers are right to strike—and taking action to disrupt the strike breaking operations is essential.
Up to 400 PCS union members working for My Civil Service Pension scheme started a six week strike following the transfer of the contract for delivering the service to Capita.
The workers administrate the pensions for civil servants. Capita is currently refusing to recognise the PCS union and refusing or negotiate with it on pay and conditions.
There was a lively picket line outside the Liverpool City Centre office, supported by the PCS retired members section, who have a direct interest in the dispute.
Branch secretary Gary Wheelan said, “This is about union recognition but there are other issues.” Capita’s refusal to recognise the union suggests that an attack on terms and conditions is planned in the near future.
Picket lines are Monday to Friday for the next six weeks, 7.30-10am. The two offices are based in Tithebarn Street in Liverpool City Centre and in Cheadle in Manchester.
By Dave Owens in Liverpool
Health workers in the Unite union in Wales have voted to reject the Welsh government’s 3.6 percent pay offer and in favour of strikes. Some 87 percent of those who voted in the consultative ballot said they were prepared to walk out to fight for more.
The union leadership is urging the government to negotiate a better deal or face losing crucial workers. Unite represents some technical and laboratory workers, and well as a minority of workers in other jobs and grades.
The union should announce strike dates and encourage those in other unions to do the same.
Some 37 workers in Gloucestershire who take patients’ blood—known as phlebotomists—marked their 100th day on picket lines last week. The strikers are in dispute with NHS bosses over grading. The union rightly insists phlebotomists be put in band 3. They are currently in band 2, the lowest pay grade.
Some 600 low paid workers for Forth Valley NHS, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, are preparing to strike after bosses told them their pay will now be monthly, instead of weekly.
The Unison union members are cleaners, porters and catering workers employed by the hated subcontractor Serco. Workers say that the move would force them to stretch a week’s wages across a month, increasing the risk of debt and missed bills.
In a recent union survey nearly three-quarters of Serco staff said they would struggle financially. Unison plans to begin a formal strike ballot shortly unless Serco changes course.
More than 300 healthcare assistants (HCAs) in Northumbria are set to strike for 48 hours next week in a dispute over grading. The Unison union members who work at hospitals, including Alnwick Infirmary, Hexham General Hospital and North Tyneside General Hospital are furious that bosses are refusing to pay them money they are owed.
Bosses agree that HCAs perform clinical tasks and therefore should be in band 3 of the NHS payscale. Until recently, most HCAs were wrongly being paid band 2 wages.
But employers want to limit back pay from 2022. That is what has provoked the strike.
HCAs across Britain have won far better deals, with Unison members in the north west of England hitting the “gold standard” of six years backpay—which would be several thousands of pounds for some workers.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is the fourth trust in north east England to be in dispute over banding. Workers in Teesside, South Tyneside and Sunderland negotiated a higher backpay deal.
Some 40 cleaners employed by private firm Mitie at three NHS centres in East Lancashire are set to return to picket lines next week.
The Unison union members are furious after being consistently underpaid—and are still awaiting the government’s £1,655 “Covid bonus” promised to all NHS workers in 2023.
Unison says the underpayment problems began when the NHS cleaning contract was held by rival privateer OCS but that they continued with Mitie.
Some workers are now almost £1,000 out of pocket. The Unison members last struck for two days in May.
Bus services in Cardiff could be brought to a halt as over 450 workers are balloting for strikes.
The Unite union members, employed by Cardiff Bus, rejected a pay offer that would leave them under the average pay for bus drivers in Britain. Workers are also unable to take proper breaks.
The ballot will close on 22 July.
And over 80 engineers and cleaners for Stagecoach in north east England are balloting for strikes over pay.
The Unite union members at Busways Travel Services rejected a pitiful pay offer of 3.3 percent. Busways Travel struggles to employ engineers due to such low pay. The ballot will close 24 July.
Unite union members at Glasgow airport are set for a summer of strikes.
Around 450 workers at three different companies are all balloting for strikes over pay and working conditions.
Glasgow Airport Ltd, ICTS Central Search and Swissport are all facing workers’ anger. Coordinated strikes across all three companies are needed to put maximum pressure on the bosses.
Over 100 workers on the Glasgow Subway are set to escalate their strike over working conditions.
The Unite union members, will walk out for three days from this Friday.
Workers previously called off their strike to vote on an interim pay offer but overwhelmingly rejected it.
Workers regularly work ten hours over their scheduled shifts every week. Chronic understaffing means the service cannot operate properly.
Over 3,000 Unite union members employed by aerospace company Airbus Broughton and Filton are balloting over pay.
If they strike, production will stay on the ground as workers produce wings for multiple models of aeroplanes. The ballot will close on 24 July.
Nearly 200 drivers from the logistics firm Wincanton have won a pay deal after threatening to strike.
The Unite union members threatened to walk out over pay, which forced bosses to concede.
Drivers have won a 5 percent pay increase, an additional £1,000 payment and access to a private healthcare scheme. It proves strike are the way to win.
Over 100 workers at the International Transport Workers’ Federation are set to strike over planned redundancies and attacks on collective bargaining.
Bosses are restructuring the organisation, which brings together trade unions in transport. Bosses handed themselves a 47 percent pay rise while planning job losses.
Bosses are also threatening the Unite-unionised workers with the sack if they don’t denounce their collective bargaining agreements.
Workers will strike for a week from 22 July.
Health workers set to strike across four Manchester hospitals
Bus workers rejected an offer and came back out
Deadline to accept new conditions approaches
