Early on Wednesday, 9 July eight comrades of the Revolutionary Communist Party joined a mass picket, called in support of the striking Unite bin workers at Veolia’s Lumley Street Depot in Sheffield.
Organized by a local community activist, and with the support of the local trade union councils, hundreds of supporters and sympathisers turned out to put on a festival of solidarity.
This demonstration was called in response to Veolia obtaining an injunction from the High Court which prevents anyone who supports the strikes, worker or not, from blocking trucks or disrupting work at any of Veolia’s five sites across Sheffield.
It is clear the draconian anti-union laws are being used to make an effective strike impossible to carry out without breaking the law.
Coming after eleven months of indefinite strike action, the mood among workers at the picket was complete indignation: at Veolia’s stubbornness, and at the Labour council’s inaction.
Unfortunately, rival union GMB‘s role in this strike has also angered workers. By allegedly backing their members to cross pickets, they are in effect lining up with the bosses to bring down the strike.
Militant mood
A group of workers involved in the Birmingham bin strike had come up in support and were proudly displaying a militant, energetic attitude, excitedly telling the Sheffield workers of their tactics. They spoke about the nationwide attention their strike has garnered and the feeling that all eyes are on them.
Bin workers at@VeoliaUKSheffield have been on strike for 11 months, fighting for what should be a basic right: union recognition. We continue to stand with them until @Veolia does the right thing & recognise Unite. #Solidarity makes us stronger. Support the strike! pic.twitter.com/aRlg3Eitik
— Merseyside Pensioners Association (@MerseyPensioner) July 17, 2025
RCP comrades interviewed one of the leading workers of the Birmingham strike. He agreed with the idea of linking strikes across the country to common ends.
When asked about the Palestine movement, he said, “It has to be called out for what it is. The UK government is facilitating mass genocide in Gaza”. He went on to agree that there is huge potential in linking these struggles with those of workers like himself.
At the end of the interview, when asked for his view on where next for the strikes, he said what was needed was a “Bolshevik attitude.” We couldn’t agree more!
A series of speeches – including from one of our own comrades – denounced the council’s scandalous inaction; Veolia’s huge profits produced by bin workers’ labour; Labour “no longer” representing workers; and the situation being “not about laws, but about winning!”
When the last speaker, an ex-miner, connected the fight for workers’ rights to ending British imperialism’s support of the genocide in Palestine, the crowd erupted in a roar of support.
Victory to the refuse workers!
The workers’ demands are fundamentally simple: they want their union of choice, Unite, to be recognised. Yet Veolia, with the backing of the police and courts, are unashamedly sabotaging the workers’ efforts.
It may cost the bosses millions to bring in scab-labour and pay legal fees to obtain court injunctions. But in their minds, it will cost far more to have a workforce able to fight back against the super-exploitation they depend on for their profits.
It is shameful that a company making millions from UK taxpayers refuses to allow its workers the basic, democratic right to be represented by a trade union of their choosing. #Veolia #Sheffield pic.twitter.com/RvYzLvqrpI
— Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) July 18, 2025
Yet without the working class not a thing can be done in society – just look at the bin bags piling up in Birmingham! This is the power that the trade unions could use to overturn the repugnant anti-union laws themselves.
Simply put: the anti-union laws must be made unenforceable. To do this, the bin strikes must be actively joined by the union with a view to spreading them across the country, in order to create the necessary force to challenge Starmer’s anti-worker government.
It is not a question of ‘if’ this must be done, it is a question of ‘when’. And we say the time is now!
