Clive Walder, Birmingham South Socialist Party
200 maintenance and admin workers employed by Citizen Housing in Birmingham, Coventry, Worcester and Hereford, members of Unite, started five weeks of strike action on Mondays and Fridays from 28 October.
The workers were underpaid for years and eventually fell below the minimum wage, forcing the employer to conduct a pay review. They are now using that as a reason to limit this year’s pay offer to 4%. Although the GMB union has accepted the offer and Unison is yet to ballot, Unite is by far the largest union.
While Citizen workers are paid below the industry average, the CEO and Chief Financial Officer are paid above the average for bosses!
The mood on the Birmingham picket line was determined and the vast majority of eligible workers were on strike.
It is likely that the repair backlog will build up quickly. Despite the potential inconvenience, workers report that most tenants support the strike.
The workers hope that they won’t need to strike for five weeks, but are determined to get justice.
