Sandwell

Nick Hart, Birmingham Socialist Party

Bin workers at Sandwell council in the Black Country are back on strike! After a successful strike two years ago and a further ballot for action last summer, multinational company Serco is once again trying to get away with imposing a below-inflation pay increase of 7% on a workforce that already receive substantially less in pay and pensions than bin workers directly employed by councils elsewhere in the region.

Serco has made £542 million profits over the last three years. Senior management has increased dividends to shareholders, bought back £90 million of its own stock, and given chief executive Rupert Soames a yearly pay packet worth up to £4.2 million.

Meanwhile, chronically underpaid workers are driving around in barely roadworthy bin lorries. To add insult to injury, workers report that the company is threatening to introduce bank holiday working and take away ‘task-and-finish’ working practices, lengthening the working day.

Despite management’s attempts to break the strike with agency staff on several pounds more per hour than the regular workforce, GMB members have stayed solid, with a mass turnout on the pickets each day.

This was despite the area manager of Serco attempting to intimidate the picket line by driving directly at it.

A loud and lively lobby was also conducted at the council meeting, where Labour councillors voted to hand over services to companies like Serco and now wash their hands of the dispute.

Bin workers have made plans to strike indefinitely until their demand of 15% and no worsening of working conditions is achieved. One picket summed it up: “The cost-of-living crisis only exists for working people – and we’ve had enough!”

Welwyn and Hatfield

Trevor Palmer, Stevenage Socialist Party

Once again, a local authority tries to reduce its costs by outsourcing a service and then pretending the wage negotiations are up to the contractor alone.

Unite members at Urbaser, the arms-length contractor for refuse and recycling services for Welwyn and Hatfield council, started an indefinite strike on 19 June. Their initial demand is for a raise 5% above the RPI figure at the time, which would represent 18%.

Unite states that most of the loaders and street cleaning staff are only paid the minimum wage rate. The drivers are on £15 an hour, significantly below industry rates.

The picket is large, with solid support from over 70 workers on site, and lots of support from passing public.