THOUSANDS RALLY IN BRUM FOR BETTER PAY

24-04-2008

From Single Status...

Thousands of teachers, council workers, and college lecturers from around the West Midlands gathered in Victoria Square this lunchtime to demand better pay. It was the biggest show of discontent by public sector workers since the 1980s.

Picture gallery here

Estimates of turnouts at these events are notoriously variable, but our guess would be that there were are at least 5,000 people (and possibly more) – a respectable turnout on a showery day.

They were entertained by music from Banner Theatre, before a series of speeches, then a good natured march along New Street.

The teachers – all from the NUT – are unhappy with their third consecutive below-inflation pay offer from the government (see link here) while the lecturers (represented by the UCU) are fed up with lagging behind their colleagues in schools.

Their presence helped beef up the show of strength by Council staff, campaigning against a Single Status pay deal imposed by management with a two-day strike,

The Stirrer has suggested that local authority workers had lost the stomach for a fight – only around the half the staff walked out yesterday compared to a previous stoppage in February (see link here) - but there was evidence of greater support today.

Workers shut down the Perry Barr refuse depot which was was open yesterday, forcing the cancellation of rubbish collections in Sutton Coldfield – home of Cllr Rudge, the architect of the pay deal.

As a symbol of solidarity, the sight of piled up bin bags should not be under-estimated.

Caroline Johnson, one of the Unison negotiators, delivered a defiant speech, and warned there could be further strikes.

She said that talks with the Council were due to resume on Tuesday, and warned: “I’ll be telling them if they don’t back down, we’ll be standing here again”.

Has the two day Council strike been success? Leave a comment on the “Two Day Single Status Strike” thread on The Stirrer Forum.