22/05/2025
✊ Solidarity with the Birmingham bin strike!
It was great to hear Danny, one of the strikers, in Glasgow last night. Birmingham City Council are trying to cut the pay of the bin men by £8-10k, which they are fighting with an all-out strike, now running over 10 weeks.
Despite being a rep for only four weeks before the dispute began, Danny has been thrown into a fierce battle with the council, who have illegally hired scabs and called on the police and private security to intimidate strikers. "They win one, we lose one, we win one, they lose one" he says.
Birmingham Labour councillors have refused negotiation, and Deputy PM Angela Rayner intervened to publicly pressure workers to take a 'deal' that does not exist.
Meanwhile the Labour government extracts over £250,000,000 per year from Birmingham through loan payments, even charging interest on the interest! Even a small cut to this could repair Birmingham's budget without the need for cuts to jobs and pay.
Unite the Union are standing by the strike, mobilising activists to put pressure on the council and prevent scabbing. Knocking on doors, speaking to local business owners, putting up posters and signs of support, and stickering bins, as well as visiting depots in neighbouring council areas.
There were many messages of support in the room, and read out from trade unionists across Scotland. The Birmingham strike is just one part of a broader struggle against austerity and the "cost of capitalism crisis", in the words of RMT's Gordon Martin. Victory for the Birmingham bin men will be felt across Britain, as would defeat.
"We are the dam thats holding back the water" as Danny said.
