Unite has overwhelming voted to re-examine its relationship with
Labour and deputy prime minister has had her Unite membership
suspended over her role in the Birmingham bin strike.
The decision was taken following an emergency motion passed at
the union's policy conference in Brighton today that condemned
Birmingham's Labour council and the Labour government for
attacking the bin workers.
Birmingham council leader John Cotton and fellow Unite Birmingham
councillors have also had their Unite membership suspended for
their roles in effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who
are striking over pay cuts of up £8,000.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is crystal
clear it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of
their rosette. 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.
The emergency condemned “Birmingham council for its threat to
effectively fire and rehire, on pain of redundancy, the Unite
Birmingham bin workers”. The Labour government is also condemned
for its “support to the council and the commissioners, originally
appointed by the Tories and maintained by Labour.”
It then commits the union if the redundancy process is forced
through “Unite should discuss our relationship with Labour.”
Birmingham's government appointed commissioners, who, along with
John Cotton, have never joined negotiations and have continually
blocked deals to end the strike, answer directly to .
Ms Rayner, Cotton and other the other Labour councillors have
been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute”. This will
be followed by an investigation into their behaviour with a “view
to expelling them from the union.”
In April, the secretary of state for local authorities toured
Birmingham waste depots using strike breaking labour and insisted
the strikers should accept a deal that would have seen their
wages slashed.
The motion was voted on by 800 Unite delegates who represent
sectors across the economy from automotive to the NHS.
