Alistair Tice, Sheffield Socialist Party
In the weeks before Christmas, Sheffield refuse workers at outsourcing company Veolia were angry and dismayed after the company backed out of an agreed recognition deal at the eleventh hour.
Unite members have been on strike now for over 20 weeks, seeking a recognition agreement as they make up a significant proportion of the workforce at the Lumley Street depot.
A deal had been reached following months of strike action, protests and painstaking negotiations by Unite representatives. Unite members voted on the picket line on a proposal that the company put forward and this was agreed. This agreement was relayed to Veolia.
Unite representatives were then due to meet to discuss a return-to-work agreement – a common issue following strikes and a further indication that a recognition agreement had been reached.
However, at the last minute, Veolia reneged and backed out of the deal, leaving Unite members on the picket line furious at such a betrayal.
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “Our members are rightly furious that Veolia would reach an agreement, which is based on a document which they drafted and proposed, only for them to now say they will not stand by it. In effect, Veolia has withdrawn its own proposal once the union agreed it. We made no additional demands. This is straightforward duplicity. But we will not back down. We will not give in.”
Returning to the picket line in the new year, the strikers are even more determined to win recognition for the union of their choice. The leverage campaign has intensified with Unite organisers increasing pressure on Sheffield City Council, which outsources the waste contract, and at Veolia’s Paris headquarters.
And on 14 January a mass picket outside the depot was successful in interacting with many of the refuse workers who have continued working during the strike but are increasingly uneasy at how they’re being treated by Veolia.
Unite strikers remain confident that they will win recognition. Then they will have to rebuild trade union density and unity with those in other unions to be able to defend all workers from victimisation and fight for better pay and conditions.
