Latest news with #pay cuts
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ministers ‘have their fingers in their ears' over bin strikes, says Sharon Graham
Ministers 'have their fingers in their ears' over the ongoing Birmingham bin strikes, the boss of one of Britain's biggest unions has said. The prime minister and Angela Rayner must 'get in the room, sort it out and stop letting this continue for no reason,' Sharon Graham warned. The outspoken Unite chief said she is not the prime minister's ' favourite trade union leader … probably because I call things out'. But, with the bin strikes running since January, Ms Graham called for the prime minister and his deputy to resolve the dispute. The strikes have resulted in huge piles of rubbish across Birmingham as well as rat infestations and unsanitary conditions. The left-winger has been increasingly critical of Labour 's time in government in recent weeks, and Unite is reexamining its relationship with the Labour party, with disaffiliation a real prospect. The union also took the incendiary step this month of voting to suspend Ms Rayner's membership over the strikes, with Ms Graham accusing her of failing to back workers. Ms Rayner had resigned her membership some months earlier. 'Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute, but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts,' Ms Graham said this month. And, doubling down in an interview with The Times, she called for a major change of course from Labour. 'People were voting for hope,' she said after Labour's first year in power. 'They are not voting for despair, are they?' Ms Graham said she has been 'in more government rooms than I've had hot dinners in the last year', but that 'getting a hearing and being listened to are two very different things'. She warned that if Sir Keir and Ms Rayner keep 'attacking workers' then she would be happy to pull the union's backing of Labour - which would deal a major financial blow to the party. 'Is there something to be said for an authentic voice for workers, independent, strong unions, where your first, second and third priority is the workers?' she told The Times. She added that, if Unite had voted on whether to abandon its link to Labour, it would have passed 'without a shadow of a doubt'. But, with hopes her pressure on the party will force a rethink in Downing Street, she said 'we've got time to recoup this'. 'They've been in for a year. They've made some errors but there's no point going further and faster when you're heading for a cliff. They have time to address some of this stuff, but they're going to have to move fast,' Ms Graham said. She added: 'I think if we're here at the end of next year in the same position, I think there's a real problem.' Ms Graham was also a vocal critic of the government's decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. Despite the U-turn, she said there are older people who will now never vote Labour again. A Labour Party Spokesperson said: "The Labour Government has introduced the biggest upgrade in workers' rights in a generation to address low pay, insecure work, and poor working conditions, which will benefit 15 million workers across the country. Only Labour is delivering the change working people voted for and so deserve."
Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Angela Rayner suspended from Unite over Birmingham bin dispute
One of Labour's most influential union backers has suspended Angela Rayner over the Birmingham bin strikes. Unite criticised the deputy prime minister's support for Birmingham council, which it said had 'peddled lies' in its row with refuse workers. Unite said its conference had voted 'overwhelmingly' in favour of ousting Rayner. John Cotton, the leader of Birmingham council, has also had his membership suspended. Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said: 'Unite is crystal clear it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette. 'Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts. 'The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises. 'People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer: not workers.' • Birmingham bin strikes could last until Christmas after new vote The dispute in Birmingham was initially over the removal of waste recycling and collection officer roles but later expanded to include the local authority's decision to hire temporary workers, which Unite claimed would 'undermine' strikes. On-and-off strike action has been taking place since January, when an initial 12 walkouts were scheduled over four months. Bin collection workers then announced unlimited strikes on March 11. This is a breaking story. More to follow.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Union accuses council of ‘abhorrent' practices and calls for leader to quit
Unite's national lead officer has called for Birmingham's council leader to quit his post over the authority's 'abhorrent' and 'shambolic' handling of the city's bin strike. Onay Kasab visited a picket line in the Tyseley area of the city on Thursday to speak to dozens of the hundreds of workers who went on all-out strike four months ago over fears some could face pay cuts of up to £8,000. Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton said in a statement issued on Wednesday that the council had 'sought to be reasonable and flexible, but we have reached the absolute limit of what we can offer'. Mr Cotton added that the authority had 'now run out of time' after negotiating in good faith 'but unfortunately Unite has rejected all offers so we must now press ahead to both address our equal pay risk and make much needed improvements to the waste service'. The Labour-run council would communicate with staff and trade unions as to its next steps, with voluntary redundancy remaining on the table alongside opportunities for training and redeployment, Mr Cotton said. Speaking after meeting Unite members on the picket line outside a city council depot, Mr Kasab stressed that the dispute was about planned cuts to pay and not about workers looking for better pay and conditions. Mr Kasab said: 'The council's announcement effectively means that they are looking at fire and rehire and that's one of the most abhorrent of employment practices. 'We were told previously that under a Labour government that that would be outlawed. 'We have now got a Labour government that said it would be outlawed and a Labour council who are now looking at implementing fire and rehire to bully these workers for the council to get its way, which is about cutting people's pay. 'That's absolutely appalling.' Accusing the council of being dishonest by not referring to fire and rehire in its 'unhelpful' statement, the trade union official added that workers were determined to stay out on strike 'not just as a point of principle, not just because we have been out on strike for all this time already, but because what the council are looking to do simply cannot happen'. The only way to resolve the dispute was through negotiation, said Mr Kasab, who claimed the council's statement gave false impression that there had been 'offer after offer' to settle the issues. 'The question to the council is how do redundancies and cuts to people's pay improve services,' Mr Kasab continued. 'And that's the question that John Cotton really has to answer now.' Accusing the council of a 'shambolic' mishandling of the dispute, including a 'daft' attempt to negotiate via a statement to the media, Mr Kasab said of Mr Cotton: 'I think he really has to seriously consider his position. 'The way his council under his leadership has mishandled this dispute and with yesterday's appalling announcement, as a Labour councillor he really needs to be considering his position.'
