Stop press: Birmingham home care strikers close to victory!

Birmingham bin workers and home carers strike together, photo Birmingham Socialist Party, photo Birmingham Socialist Party

Birmingham bin workers and home carers strike together, photo Birmingham Socialist Party, photo Birmingham Socialist Party   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Birmingham Socialist Party

Just as we go to press, Birmingham Socialist Party members have learnt that the city’s home care workers could be on the verge of claiming victory in their 20-month-long dispute against Birmingham Council.

The dispute was over cuts and changes to working hours, with the Labour council effectively trying to make all posts part-time and financially unworkable, to cut costs by pushing workers into leaving the service.

Home care workers organised by public service union Unison have taken over 80 days of strike action during their dispute. This includes a joint strike day with Birmingham bin workers in general union Unite in February of this year.

Tears of joy

If confirmed, a victory for the home carers would be another humiliating defeat for Birmingham’s Blairite council, and the third time in two years it will have lost to its workers.

As the information stands so far, a members’ meeting was held on Friday 10 May, where the home care strikers were informed by Unison that the council has dropped all proposals, and their jobs will currently stay as they are.

There were tears of joy – but also the understanding that the council cannot be trusted to protect any job, as it continues to carry out the Tories’ dirty work of cuts and sell-offs of our public services.

There has been no official statement from Unison yet. When more information is available, we will produce a more in-depth report.