BIRMINGHAM, England — “We’re dug in for however long it takes,” striking refuse worker Ali Chidodo said. “We’ve come too far. With union backing we can win.” The workers have been on strike for over six months. Chidodo was among 120 refuse workers, members of Unite the Union, who protested outside the Birmingham offices of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood Oct. 1.
“We’re not here because she’s a local MP,” Unite convenor Matt Reid said, “but because she’s a leading government minister. While the wage cuts are an attack by the City Council, the government is behind it. There was a deal on the table in the summer but it was scuppered by government-appointed commissioners.”
Like other ministers, Mahmood is backing the council, accusing the strikers of “holding the city to ransom.” She calls on Unite to accept wage cuts of up to 8,000 pounds ($10,780) a year and cuts to safety-critical jobs.
“This is above all an attack on the union,” driver Jim Briggs told the Militant. “They want to break the union by replacing us with agency workers without rights. If Birmingham Council wins, other councils will follow suit. If we win it will be a victory for all workers.”