Striker David: ‘They tell us to live within our means—I’ve got no means left to live within.’
By Arthur Townend
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Saturday 20 September 2025
Hundred marched through Birmingham led by striking workers (Pic: Guy Smallman)
The Birmingham bin strike has reached a crunch point. Unite union members started an all-out strike over six months ago after the Labour-run Birmingham council announced an £8,000 cut to wages.
On Saturday, hundreds of workers, trade unionists and labour activists marched through the city to show they won’t accept Labour’s savage cuts. The march was loud and defiant, defined by anger at Labour and determination to win.
“I’m a lifelong Labour supporter, and I would never vote for them again,” striker David told Socialist Worker. “All of this is aided and abetted by a Labour government—I find it abhorrent.”
David said there was “still strong momentum” on the picket lines, but there was some “fatigue” setting in.
“The main problem is the court injunctions, which mean we just have to stand by watching the trucks go out.”
Drivers like David were told by the council they would be exempt from cuts—but the council then came for them anyway. Backed-up by Labour and the disgraced Angela Rayner, the council’s cuts have only escalated.
“I’ve got a good level of optimism we can win,” David said. “But the main problem is the compulsory redundancies”—in July, the council threatened to sack over 100 workers. “And they keep talking about this fair and reasonable offer. My ‘reasonable’ offer is a 25 percent pay cut or the sack—I can’t accept that.
“They tell us to live within our means—I’ve got no means left to live within.”
Another striker, Sam said, “We’re trying to stay strong, keep out on the picket lines. Hopefully this will help us get the momentum back.” On 9 May a well supported mega picket demonstrated the strikers’ power. It stopped vans from leaving the depot and the council was forced to shut it for the day. But Sam added that some momentum has been “lost” since then.
“A lot of bins are still being collected because of the scabs—so a lot of people don’t even realise we are still out on strike,” Sam said. “That’s an issue—we need to be loud to tell them we still need their support.”
There was strong support from other trade unions, including the NEU, Unison Barnett, PCS, CWU and groups such as Strike Map and Women Against Pit Closures.
Shaun, a member of the Dudley and District NEU branch said he was there because he’s “not just a teacher, but a trade unionist”.
“Support for the bin workers is support for everyone—pushing this fire and rehire is bad, and it’ll get worse if the council wins.
“We’re fighting for our rights—look at the present political moment. Nigel Farage is on the up, but he’s not a friend of the trade unions. He’s against raising the minimum wage.”
Shaun said Labour were simply “red Tories”. “I dropped out of the Labour Party in 2021—the real question is how can anyone claiming to be a socialist be in Labour.”
Shaikhi, a member of Birmingham CWU said, “You get together and support each other otherwise you lose the battle—it’s as simple as that.”
Shaikhi said the council’s actions are a disgrace. “The unions are the ones who created the Labour Party but now it’s Labour attacking the working class. Get rid of them all—if the council gets away with this, it will happen to everyone.”
From the beginning of the strike, there was a sense that if Birmingham council won, other councils would follow suit.
The council has tried everything to break the strike. As workers rallied outside the council building, striker Danny said, “Section 14, court injunctions, police breaking picket lines, private security threats, the illegal deduction of holiday pay.
“This sets a dangerous precedent. The council is pushing people into roles members aren’t trained for, pressuring workers into life changing roles—it’s a sham.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told the rally, “We are not going to crumble, we are not going to move on.
“A Labour council, backed by a Labour government, has used Margaret Thatcher’s anti-trade union laws on our picket lines. They have spent millions and millions of pounds on injuncting those same picket lines.”
Unite has been fined for breaking the injunction. “For every single fine that we get, we will take every single penny out of our Labour affiliation,” Graham said.
“I say to Labour, the Labour MPs and the councillors, where are you? Because they are not backing their communities. And when they ask me, what can we do to get back support, I say to them, ‘show workers whose side you are on’.”
Saturday was a good show of support from the trade union movement for a struggle that is essential to win. But the council has proved it will not negotiate, it will not listen. Demonstrations and calls for negotiations will not be enough to put pressure on the council.
Winning this struggle requires mass workers’ action—the anger is there, and the mega pickets showed the way.