Six months ago, it was a stirring, a mood felt in many workers’ meetings, on picket lines and doorsteps. What started as disappointment in Labour is now giving way to anger for many British workers and their communities. “Aren’t Labour supposed to be for workers?” is a line I hear daily now. Most recently, this sentiment has been felt in Birmingham, where bin workers for the Labour-run city council have been on indefinite strike since 11 March.
These workers woke up one morning to be told they would lose up to a quarter of their pay – what Unite believes to be up to £8,000. This is “fire-and-rehire” by any other name. Bin lorry drivers are now being told they are next in line to lose the same amount in pay. What makes this scandal all the more egregious is that it is being perpetrated by a Labour council – enthusiastically backed by a Labour government. One bin worker said this government “might be Labour in name, but it isn’t Labour in nature”.
