Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright has called on Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner to step in to deliver a decent settlement for the striking Birmingham bin workers.
In a challenge to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, Wright said that the Labour government must use its power and influence to insist that Birmingham Council halts planned pay cuts of up to £8,000 for the workers and compensates the strikers for lost income.
The firefighters' leader said that unions affiliated to Labour like the FBU would not tolerate a 'betrayal ' of the bin workers similar to that of the Liverpool dockers, Magnet kitchen strikers in Darlington, and Hillingdon hospital workers, during a series of high-profile disputes in the late 1990s that Tony Blair's Labour government failed to intervene in.
Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner must urgently step in to resolve the Birmingham bin dispute in favour of the striking workers, Wright said.
The FBU leader issued the stark warning to Starmer and Rayner ahead of a 'solidarity megapicket' by unions on Friday (July 25).
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said:
The treatment of the bin workers has been outrageous.
It's a disgrace that a Labour led council forced these dedicated public servants to go on strike by attempting to cut their pay by thousands of pounds.
The Prime Minister and his deputy cannot stand by any longer and allow this attack on the jobs and wages of these workers who have lost their family incomes and faced dire poverty for many months.
Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner could easily resolve this dispute by insisting that Birmingham Council halts the planned pay cuts and compensates the bin workers for all lost earnings.
The leadership of the Labour government has the power to do this, and there must be no excuses.
Nearly 30 years ago, Tony Blair's Labour government failed to intervene in favour of the Liverpool dockers, Magnet strikers in Darlington, and Hillingdon hospital workers.
Unions affiliated to Labour like the FBU that help fund the party's election campaigns will not tolerate a repeat of this betrayal of striking workers."
