Leaked letter reveals Unite’s Sharon Graham told Deputy PM: ‘Let me be very clear that the pay of these workers is being cut by a Labour Council under your watch.’
The boss of a union representing striking bin workers in Britain’s second city has hit out at Downing Street’s handling of the crisis in a letter to deputy PM Angela Rayner.
Nearly 400 council workers in Birmingham went on an indefinite walkout last month in a bitter dispute over pay and jobs. Now, in a leaked letter seen by the Mirror, Unite’s Sharon Graham has told Rayner the government can’t “simply sit on its hands saying ‘nothing to do with us. We can’t get involved.’”
It comes after the council this week declared a major incident over the strike, with about 17,000 tonnes of waste left uncollected in the city. In an escalation of the row, Graham wrote to Rayner – whose brief covers housing, communities and local government – on Tuesday saying: “Let me be very clear that the pay of these workers is being cut by a Labour Council under your watch. That is a fact that can’t be avoided.
“The current escalation increasingly looks like a declaration of war on these workers. It’s clear to me that there are no decision makers in the room from the Council’s side. Every attempt being made to solve the dispute by Unite negotiators in the room, is being met with ‘a computer says no’ answer.”
Graham, general secretary of Unite which has previously made millions in donations to Labour, also took aim at Birmingham city council’s lead commissioner Max Caller. Mr Caller, dubbed “Max the Axe” over his cost-cutting record, was appointed by then Conservative minister Michael Gove in October 2023. It came after the month before the Labour-run local authority issued a section 114 notice – acknowledging its income could not cover its spending.
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Graham added: “This predetermined charade is played out after ‘consultation’ with those outside the room – namely the Government appointed Commissioner Max Caller, who is directly under your department and your authority. Mr Caller is supposed to be acting in an advisory capacity. However, he has been acting as the principal decision maker.
“When councillors are asked to discuss possible solutions to the dispute, they quickly defer to him and the Commissioners generally and say that their hands are tied. This is not a negotiation, it is a farce. It is clear, as solution after solution is rejected, that Mr Caller and therefore Council Leader John Cotton, are determined to make council workers’ pay the price for historic austerity and mismanagement of the Council.
“Unite will not accept that these low paid workers have £8,000 cut from their pay, throwing their families into poverty, because of a crisis not of their making. That would be an utter disgrace under any government let alone a Labour Government.”
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She added in the letter: “As a matter of urgency, together we need to have an emergency meeting with the leader of the council, regarding debt restructuring and immediately investigate the role of the commissioner in the dispute. We can then remove the threat of cutting £8,000 per year from our members pay packets and discuss sensible solutions. As I have set out above, it is no longer sustainable for the Government to simply maintain a watching brief.”
Birmingham’s bin staff went on an indefinite walk-out on 11 March, following on-and-off strikes since the start of the year. The council has disputed the £8,000 figure. PM Keir Starmer told the Commons on Wednesday: “In relation to the situation in Birmingham, it is completely unacceptable. I fully support the council in declaring a major incident to resolve the situation. We’ll put in whatever additional support is needed.”
Birmingham City Council’s leader John Cotton said earlier this week of the move to declare a major incident: “It’s regrettable that we have had to take this step, but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham. I respect the right to strike and protest, however actions on the picket line must be lawful and sadly the behaviour of some now means we are seeing a significant impact on residents and the city’s environment.” He added: “I would reiterate that we have made a fair and reasonable offer to our workers which means none of them have to lose any money and I would urge Unite to reconsider their position.”
A government spokesperson said: “The waste dispute in Birmingham is causing misery and disruption to residents and so we are urging for an immediate agreement to be made. It is right that this continues to be a locally led response, as is usual in the case of council-run services. But we are monitoring the situation closely and will not hesitate to act should the council require additional support.” Birmingham City Council was contacted for comment.