Camden traffic wardens on the picket line
Traffic wardens in Camden, north London, are walking out for eight weeks in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Chants of “Low pay? No way,” and, “No slave labour,” rang out from the picket line near Kentish Town station on the first day of strikes.
One striker, who has worked as a warden for 16 years, told Socialist Worker that, “We are fighting for a pay rise of £2 an hour. We also want seven extra days of annual leave so that we have the same annual leave that council employees start with.”
Currently, traffic wardens only get 20 days annual leave—the statutory minimum. However, they work 42.5 hours a week, almost a day longer than other council workers every week. That’s an extra 50 days of work a year.
The striker added that they work for private contractor NSL, a subsidiary of the multimillion pound company, Marston Holdings. Despite the company making over £11 million in profits after tax last year, it offered workers a pay increase of just £1.05.
“It’s not enough,” he said. “It’s not even in line with inflation. Everything is going up from mortgages to bills.
“We also want sick pay from day one. We are currently not paid sick pay until after our third day. That means many people just cannot afford to get sick.”
This is not the first time that Camden traffic wardens have refused to accept the pitiful offerings from their employer.
“Three years ago we were on strike for 56 days over pay and won our demands for a proper pay rise,” he said.
He added, “This is the fourth strike I have known in 10 years and every time we have won.
“We just have to stay united and focused and we’ll win again. We know we can do it, we’ve done it before.”
Another worker outsourced to multinational NSL on a contract to the Labour-run Camden council said that the company was “trying to keep themselves rich and us poor.”
He explained that the overwhelmingly black and migrant workforce are forced to work in all kinds of weather. They face numerous challenges on a daily basis only to be treated “as less than human”.
“We walk the streets of London which isn’t always pleasant. Everyone’s on edge in this job because it’s enforcement. We’re issuing tickets to people so you get all sorts of reactions. You don’t know if your safety is guaranteed,” he said.
“I’ve been punched in the face as well on the job. Realistically, that should never happen to anyone when they’re at work.
“And afterwards, do you know what they did? They put me back in the same place the next day.
“This is what we deal with every day on the street and then we don’t get looked after.”
Annual leave was a pivotal issue for all the workers who spoke to Socialist Worker. “For me, and for a lot of people here, because we get so little holiday you never get enough time to recover,” said one striker.
“We try to use it and make it meaningful but there’s not enough days to rest.”
“Dealing with all the anxiety at work and all the worries that you have to worry about on the street, and our safety. And then we don’t get enough holidays, and we don’t get enough pay.
“Compared to council workers, they get better treatment, they get better holiday. They get more pay.
“And they get sick pay. It’s not fair that we aren’t getting the same.”
He added, “A lot of people here are scared to strike because they don’t know what will happen.
“But the thing is, NSL takes so much of our lives away. And we don’t get that life back, we don’t get that livelihood back.
“We have to win. There’s no other way.”
Every trade unionist, socialist and campaigner should rally around the strikes by Camden traffic wardens.
A victory in Camden would boost other workers fighting for higher pay and better conditions.
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