Nick Hart, Birmingham Socialist Party
“Why are Unite still funding the Labour Party when the Labour council is funding police to break a strike?”
Bin workers in Birmingham have had enough of Labour, after a week in which the council’s provocations against striking Unite members have only increased.
On 17 and 18 March, two bin workers were arrested at different depots for nothing more than walking in front of an agency-staffed lorry. This followed several instances of physical manhandling of pickets by police, with drinks and phones knocked out of hands – under the nose of the Labour police commissioner Simon Foster.
Later that same week, three agency workers were ‘caught’ by management speaking to pickets while waiting to leave the depot and start their rounds. They were told later that day they were being dismissed due to a lack of work, despite the council offering weekend overtime at all three yards! At the time of writing, Unite is fighting for their reinstatement – on permanent contracts – at their original depot.
The all-out strike action and disciplined picketing to delay the lorries leaving the depots is having an effect and giving the bin workers every chance of forcing back cuts to pay and safety.
During the 2022 Coventry bin strike, Unite suspended Labour councillors who are members of the union from membership.
Unite should suspend funding to Labour while that party continues to attack its members in Birmingham and elsewhere. This could buy time for a genuine debate at this year’s policy conference on whether the union should open up its political fund to support candidates who back workers in struggle rather than trying to sack them. That would be a significant step towards the new working-class party we need.
How can council cuts be ended?
Conference to debate a people’s budget for Birmingham
12pm, Saturday 26 April
Comfort Inn, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY
Organised by West Midlands Shop Stewards Network
