Fighting back in Birmingham

News

The Birmingham cuts protest plus industrial strikes and the poll

May Day Monday protest against massive cuts at Birmingham City Council (Image: People’s Assembly on Twitter)

Members of the Birmingham Unison union, other trade unionists and anti-cuts campaigners joined a demonstration on Monday against plans for savage attacks on services and jobs.

The rally in Centenary Square is part of the ‘Brum Rise Up’ movement, which recently held a planning meeting for resistance.

Labor is making £300m of cuts over two years, combined with a 21% rise in council tax.

GMB union members in 35 city schools have voted to strike over delays to equal pay claims.

Equal pay debts are not responsible for a dime of the discounts. Birmingham Council issued a Section 114 notice effectively declaring bankruptcy in September.

Its leaders pointed to an equal wage debt of around £760m and a £100m bill to fix a botched IT system upgrade.

This has led councilors to go through the biggest local authority cuts in history. Questions are now being asked as to the basis on which these cuts were made.

Max Caller – ‘Max the Axe’ – who the government sent on £1,200 a day to make cuts, told a meeting that the current equal pay figure would eventually be replaced by a “real number “.

Fred Grindrod, a Labor councilor and chairman of the council’s audit committee, said “serious questions” remained about the figures.

He added that the claim that it might not be the real figure was a “staggering situation to be in”.

Research by James Brackley, a lecturer in accountancy at Sheffield University, found that the failing Oracle IT system was by far the council’s biggest financial problem and its budget shortfalls “have little to do with the issue of equal pay”.

Whatever the machinations at the top, it will take strikes, protests and occupations to stop the council attacks and win pay justice.

Liverpool strikers are fighting for a £1,500 fee

National Museums Liverpool (NML) strikers from the PCS union returned to the picket line last week fighting for a Covid payment.

NML bosses are refusing to pay the £1,500 living wage that strikers won last year. Instead, he offered just £250.

The 230 strikers called for 10 weeks of strikes from 17 February. Last year, the strikers took part in the national action of the PCS union.

This ended with a 4.5% rise, plus 0.5% for the lowest paid – and a one-off payment of £1,500.

The NML refused the workers this payment of £1,500. A PCS member from another branch, Gillian, said in support: “You deserve the same cost of living crisis payment that the rest of us got.

“Keep fighting for the rights you deserve.” The attackers are clear that they will not leave until they get what is theirs.

These PCS members are on the current national ballot and as they are over 50 per cent this means their strike mandate will cover them until December.

Management offered talks, but further strikes are scheduled for next Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, May 25 to June 2, June 8 and 9, June 15 and 16

• Visit the Pickets at the Museum of Liverpool 8-11am Pier Head, Isle of Mann, Liverpool L3 1DG
• Send messages of solidarity to PCS@liverpoolmuseums. org.uk and tweet them to @PCSLiverpoolMus
• Sign the petition to the NML board chair at tinyurl. com/NMLCchair

Barnet strikes escalate

Barnet mental health social workers in north London have already completed 37 days of strike action and are set for more action on Monday.

They plan a three-week strike starting May 13 and a four-week walkout starting June 17.

The strikers called for action in late February and won 87 percent on a 70 percent turnout.

Members of the Unison union are fighting the Labour-led council over three demands — safe service, shorter waiting lists and fair pay.

Workers want the same retention pay that children’s social workers in the neighborhood receive to stop a catastrophic loss of staff.

The council has decided to bring in private firms to go on strike or replace long-term council workers.

It hired Flex360 to provide “additional service provision” during the two-week strike from April 15-26.

But that cover, as it was withdrawn after the union pointed out that using agencies to replace strikers was illegal.

• Messages of support to picket lines (email protected) 8-10am at 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW

Bristol and Hackney have given up education

Teachers and support staff struck at City Academy Bristol last week and were due to strike on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The strike concerns issues including the chief’s mishandling of bullying and harassment cases.

There were also disparities regarding additional payments for responsibility and not including break time in the targeted time budget – staff working hours.

Support staff at the school say bosses have bullied and harassed workers with special educational needs and disabilities, and there is a lack of transparency about job evaluation and pay parity for similar roles in other schools.

Support staff are paid less than similar roles at the other 26 schools in the same trust as City Academy Bristol.

Send support messages to (email protected)

• Workers at The Garden school in Hackney, east London, were due to strike this week over workload. The school provides education for students with autism.

Last chance to have a say

The vote for the PCS union’s national strike covering the UK civil service – launched on March 18 – is drawing to a close.

In an earlier national poll, PCS members backed strikes over pay and conditions.

The dispute involves almost 150,000 PCS members from 171 employers in the public service and related fields.

The union’s pay demands include an increase above inflation, equal pay across departments and a minimum wage of £15 an hour.

Union sources say members from the Department for Work and Pensions achieved a 48% turnout – very close to the 50% threshold to comply with anti-union laws.

This needs to be replicated within the public service. Voting ends next Monday, May 13.

Firefighters need more

The leaders of the Firefighters’ Union (FBU) support the acceptance of the outcome of the discussions with the employers.

Wage negotiations have been ongoing at the National Joint Council between the union and the fired employers for several months.

The FBU has now succeeded in securing a bid, which it says would be binding on all UK fire and rescue services.

The key offer is a 4 per cent pay rise and entitlement to 26 weeks’ minimum maternity pay with full pay.

FBU members will be voted on to accept the terms of the deal by May 17.

If approved, the general wage increase will take effect from July this year.

But 4% is less than FBU members need to make up for years of trading below inflation.

There is more to be gained with the tories on the rocks.