Labour ? what the hell?

Fair funding for local authorities is a key topic for all unions and especially Unite?s Birmingham bin workers, still in dispute over six months.

Unite?s motion, moved by general secretary Sharon Graham to loud applause, noted ?with deep concern the mounting debt crisis facing local authorities across the UK.?

The motion explained that this was ?caused by years of Tory government underfunding but is now being perpetuated by the failure of the Labour government to restore fair and sustainable funding.?

Wages were under attack, as were non-essential and even essential council services ? some services even being cut. Councils are being forced to borrow heavily just to meet statutory obligations.

The motion stated that ?most of this debt is owed to the Westminster government, which charges inflated interest rates above standard gilt rates. As of 2024, local authorities hold ?122bn of debt. This number is growing.?

The ongoing Birmingham bin workers? dispute is cited as an example of how councils are meeting these mounting costs and paying for past mistakes. ?Bankrupt councils are slashing services and attacking workers through job cuts, below-inflation pay offers, and fire-and-rehire tactics.

?Workers should not be made to pay the price for cancellation of local government debt to future-proof local authorities; a new, fair, multi-year funding settlements based on need; an end to imposed pay cuts by local authorities; and lastly unequivocal support for the Birmingham bin workers.?

Fighters for the working class

In a powerful speech delivered in virtuoso style, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, asked the conference delegates to take a look around and remind themselves of who they were. They were trade unionists all.

She continued that they were, ?Fighters for workers, fighters for the working class. The real power of the Labour movement. Power that we know lies in every workplace, at the point of production, the crucible of resistance, the match that ignites the fire of change.

?So, let?s today celebrate those at the frontline of our industrial struggle ? striking workers. We know our movement lies within those prepared to act; the collective bond between workers who take that moment; the vanguard of our movement.

?It matters not what job they do or to which union they belong. We stand firmly with workers on strike and we should never trade our soul for political favour.

?So, let?s send our solidarity today to all workers on strike. To ASLEF, to PCS, to RMT. And of course, to Unite?s Birmingham bin workers.

?We stand with you. Solidarity to you all!?

Following vigorous applause and a standing ovation, the Unite general secretary went on to discuss Labour?s role in the dispute.

?Fourteen months ago, we welcomed the new Labour government to end the years of Tory chaos. To end the madness of austerity and to end workers being at the back of the queue.

?The country was crying out for change, and people simply do not understand.

Labour ? we don?t understand

?I do not understand how a Labour government have been attacking some of the poorest in our society, pensioners, the disabled, while leaving the super-rich totally untouched. What the hell is Labour doing?

?Yes, Britain is broken. Yes, the Tories are to blame. But Labour is in government now and they cannot keep making workers pay the price. Different choices must be made or workers and the working class will turn their backs on Labour.

?And those different choices could not be clearer than what is happening at Birmingham City Council.

?Let?s remind ourselves what this dispute is about ? workers that woke up one morning and told to accept an ?8,000 pound a year pay cut ? a quarter of their pay. This will mean homes gone. Mortgages and rent that cannot be paid.

?Workers out there fighting for their families? very existence and being told by Labour that the council could not afford the cost to end the dispute.

?A Labour council, backed by our Labour government, using Thatcher?s anti-trade union laws to try and break picket lines. Spending millions on scab labour and injuncting those same picket lines.

?Make no mistake, if they get away with this in Birmingham it will spread,? she warned.

Fire and rehire

She continued, ?And if we needed any convincing that there are preparations to make workers pay, that there is a fight to every single one of us.

?In July of this year the government amended their own legislation laid down in the Employment Rights Bill So that councils in debt under S114 notices like Birmingham and many, many others, will be able to legally fire and rehire their workers ? our members.

?That same government amendment will also allow any public sector worker to be fired and rehired, if the public sector organisation can show financial difficulty. The government says this new amendment has been done to ?limit fire and rehire?. I thought it was banned!

?Some in Labour have asked why am I attacking a Labour council? I say to them because they are attacking workers.?

Labour ? stop the attacks 

The Unite general secretary continued on the home straight. ?Just last week the Birmingham bin workers renewed their strike mandate with a 99 per cent yes vote. And Unite will make sure these workers will not be starved back to work.

?And any fines we get, from supposed broken injunctions on picket lines ? every single penny of it will come out of our Labour affiliation.?

There was no doubt that the Congress delegates were firmly behind Unite, behind the bin workers, with their continued applause and cheers.

She concluded, ?We cannot and will not be silent because a politician wears a red rosette. We are here to defend workers. If Labour?s attack on Birmingham workers succeeds, it won?t stop there.

?There will be more cuts. It could be the nurse, school support staff, the civil servant, or the fire fighter. They could come for us all. This fight is a fight for all workers.

?Let?s say from this hall today. Victory to the strikes. Victory to Birmingham Bin workers. Solidarity.

Following a standing ovation, the motion was carried unanimously.

Compiled by Amanda Campbell

Photos by Mark Thomas