Refuse workers at Lumley Street depot in Sheffield have been on indefinite strike since August. Nearly 100 workers are fighting their employer, Veolia, for workplace recognition of Unite.
The workers voted earlier this month to continue striking after Veolia pulled the rug from under the negotiations by tearing up an agreed deal.
Once more, management has revealed its dirty tactics. From the beginning of the strike, the bosses have pulled out all the stops in their efforts to bust the unionisation effort.
Scandalously, the general manager proudly declared that she would “starve strikers back to work”. Unfortunately for her though, she hadn’t bargained on the strikers’ tenacity and determination.
Meanwhile, she has been placed on “gardening leave” for her failure to break the strikes. Let no one say that refuse workers can’t take out the trash!
Braving the February cold, workers at the picket line told The Communist that bosses have been on the attack for the past thirty years of privatisation and outsourcing.
Wages have stagnated, contracts have worsened, and forced overtime has become routine. One picket told us that in 20 years his wages have only gone up by £2.50 per hour.
Management resorts to bullying to carry out these attacks. The strikers told our comrades about targeted write-ups, daily harassment, and even personal threats – all in the name of profit.
🚨 Strike Action – Veolia
📹 hear from the Regional Officer Shane about the latest developments.
Join us for our next demo!
📆 Wednesday 12th Feb
⏰ 05:30 AM onwards
📍Lumley Street, Sheffield S4 7ZJ
✊ Bring your banners and show your support! @UniteTheUnion @UniteSharon pic.twitter.com/lpgvP6bIcL— Unite – North East, Yorkshire and Humber (@UniteNEYH) February 10, 2025
GMB leaders’ treachery
However, the current battle isn’t just against Veolia’s dodgy bosses – it’s also against a dodgy GMB trade union bureaucracy. Over the past year, workers at the depot have been switching from GMB to Unite.
Shockingly, GMB officials have not only stood in the way of these efforts, but they have also helped Veolia bosses to divide the workers and undermine the strike!
It is even rumoured that GMB officials pressured Veolia to tear up the agreement reached back in December. Though we are in no position to verify these claims, the fact that so many strikers believe it says a lot about these workers’ anger against the bureaucrats’ strikebreaking tactics.
While GMB is formally recognised at the depot, workers are fed up with years of worsening conditions with no organised fight back. The local GMB rep routinely dismisses casework with a shrug. “What can I do about it?”, he says.
The answer to that question is now clear: get out of the way! Stop helping Veolia management get trucks across picket lines, and start building for a joint strike with Unite to force recognition. If you want to be the “real” union for workers, then it’s time to prove you deserve to be!
Determination
The workers that the RCP spoke with have been on the picket lines for seven months. They boasted that they’re ready for the long-haul, saying: “we’re going for the record set by the miners’ strike!”
🚨 Strike Action – Veolia
We will stand strong until our members get the respect they deserve ✊#UniteNEYH #ShameOnVeolia pic.twitter.com/CYzfFApyC8
— Unite – North East, Yorkshire and Humber (@UniteNEYH) February 12, 2025
This determination needs to be matched by the trade union leaders. They need to be willing to back escalation beyond the confines of the anti trade union laws.
Sympathy strikes and hard pickets are on the order of the day. Given the level of support the strikers are receiving, this kind of action is absolutely possible and could result in a victory within days rather than months.
Councils and workers alike are being taken for a ride by monopolies like Veolia. Their contract with Sheffield City Council earns the company over £11m a year. This is an outrage – especially at a time of strained council finances.
We need a political party that places the nationalisation of all public services at the top of their programme. This should be done without giving a penny to the billionaire ruling class who pocket tax-payer money and treat workers like rubbish.
The picket line at Lumley depot is showing the way forward in this fight – and the struggles to come would do well to learn from their example.
