At 6am on 9 May, striking refuse workers once again converged on the gates of the Lifford Lane waste centre in Birmingham, continuing their fight against an £8,000 pay cut affecting hundreds of workers.
This time, however, the bin workers were not alone. Over 400 workers from across the country joined for a ‘mega-picket’, which successfully shut down the depot.
For the RCP’s part, we mobilised heavily to ensure a solid presence on the picket line.
At the start of the dispute, Birmingham refuse workers launched militant hard pickets, physically blocking roads to halt operations. Similar methods were employed two years ago in the victorious 2023 West Midlands National Express bus strike.
Strike breakers
In response to the hard pickets, the Labour-led council called in police to break the strike. Undeterred, the workers escalated their efforts, calling on workers from across the city and country to join them.
The bin strikers travelled nationwide, meeting fellow refuse workers, speaking at union branches, and holding open meetings to build solidarity.
They leafleted workplaces across Birmingham, including universities, hospitals, fire stations, and libraries. They also joined UCU picket lines at Birmingham City University.
On the day of the picket, a police van arrived early, but upon seeing the hundreds-strong crowd, officers fled within the hour, outnumbered and unwilling to intervene.
“I’d rather be a picket than a scab” – mass picket at Birmingham bin strike pic.twitter.com/Ir5BMy583k
— Jorge Martin ☭ (@marxistJorge) May 9, 2025
Word soon spread that the scab labour hired by the council had been told not to show, and one private contractor had already torn up its agreement. The gates were shut. The plant lay dormant. The only ones left inside were the bosses, raking in £400 a day to do nothing.
Rising anger
The workers remain fully committed to the struggle, telling us unequivocally that they will strike through the summer if necessary. Many have worked at the depot for decades. If these cuts go ahead, they will be unable to afford the mortgages on their homes
Management have increased workloads, undermined basic health and safety, and treated workers with contempt. The anger towards them is palpable.
One worker told us how, after requesting compassionate leave following his mother-in-law’s death, he was refused and then sacked the day after he returned to work for “unauthorised absence.”
Striking workers who speak to the media face disciplinary action. Agency staff who show the slightest solidarity have been swiftly removed.
In a bitter twist, one of the managers responsible for this crackdown is a former Unite the Union convenor. The strikers have honoured this betrayal by erecting a giant inflatable rat to represent the turncoat.
Resolve
Despite all this, the workers we spoke to were full of optimism and resolve. They are prepared to fight throughout the summer, and every call for solidarity is met with enthusiasm by the rank and file.
On the picket line, union leaders such as Daniel Kebede of the National Education Union, and Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union, declared their solidarity with the strike. There is widespread anger at the austerity imposed by Starmer’s Labour, both nationally and locally.
Pleased to join and speak at the MEGAPICKET today with @fbunational members from across the uk alongside Birmingham’s Bin workers.
Today’s mass picket showed true solidarity. Bin workers, like firefighters – are frontline workers who keep Birmingham running.
Austerity is a… pic.twitter.com/0E6E2xLT0Z
— Steve Wright (@UnionSteveW) May 9, 2025
Birmingham bin workers have taken a significant step forward by consciously organising mass solidarity action. What is needed next is a clear political programme.
Put simply: the council needs to find £1 billion. The council needs to find £1 billion. At the call of the capitalists, it plans to raise this sum through attacks against workers.
The harsh austerity is therefore not a question of the ideological leanings of the councillors, but due to the deep crisis of the capitalist system, acutely felt in Britain.
The Lifford Lane mega-picket has illustrated the resolve and determination of the refuse workers. A victory would demonstrate the power of the working class once organised, and be a blow to the Labour council’s austerity programme.
To achieve victory, however, the strikes must escalate. The unelected commissioners must be removed, and the wealth of the capitalists must be expropriated. It’s time to take our city back!
