Alistair Tice, Sheffield Socialist Party
40 striking Sheffield bin workers, Unite the Union members, assembled to picket the Lumley Street refuse depot at 6am on Monday 29 July. But the yard was empty and its entrance sealed off by security fencing (including an adjacent company’s entrance!). Veolia, which runs the outsourced Sheffield council waste management services on a 35-year contract (yes, 35 years!), had moved all the refuse vehicles out of the depot over the weekend to escape the pickets and try to break the strike.
Unite members are striking for union recognition. The GMB, which was the major union, has a sole recognition agreement, but many workers have recently transferred to Unite after years of poor pay deals.
47%
Unite claims over half the workforce are now in the union, but Veolia says Unite has 47% at Lumley Street so doesn’t have to recognise them.
Clearly the management is trying to play divide and rule and fears a re-united joint union workforce determined to fight for a better deal.
Socialist Party members believe that Unite and GMB should both be recognised. Striking Unite members should appeal to their GMB colleagues to support their right to union recognition and not allow the company to play off one against another. Pressure must be put on the Labour-led coalition council to force Veolia to recognise Unite.
And this dispute – following several other strikes against bullying management and below-inflation pay rises – is another reason why the contract with Veolia should be terminated and all waste management services brought back in-house and under workers’ control.
