Unite hits back at Starmer over Birmingham bin strike, questioning Labour’s backing for ‘working people’

The war of words between Keir Starmer and the Unite union is escalating. After No 10 issued a strong statement criticising its conduct in the Birmingham bin strike (see 1.32pm), Unite has hit back, questioning Labour’s commitment to “working people” and saying the government should intervene directly in the dispute and force the council to settle. In a statement issued in response to what Downing Street said earlier, Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said: It is not surprising that many workers in Britian question the Labour government’s commitment to working people when it issues a statement clearly blaming bin workers in a dispute not of their making. The bottom line about this dispute is that these workers woke up one morning to be told they would be taking up to an £8,000 pay cut. They are being made to pay the price for austerity and bad decisions by Birmingham city council. Hold the front page, Unite has already agreed major changes, with the removal of job and knock and shift pay last year and in Unite’s current proposals there are no equal pay issues. This authority is determined to impose cuts on workers at any cost and has moved the goalposts again. Unite’s team of decision makers has been in negotiations in good faith for weeks. It is the leader of the council who is missing in action and not been in any of the talks. Indeed the council are only scheduling meetings once a week. Unite has said it is ready to negotiate anytime and everyday if necessary. The government is going to have to wake up and smell the coffee that they are part of this dispute, as the commissioners report directly to them and they own the £3.9bn debt of the council. If the government were really concerned about the residents of Birmingham they would get the decision makers in a room of which they are clearly one, to ensure that Unite’s solutions on the table were adopted. Yet again workers and communities pay the price for government inaction.