Unite has announced it has suspended Angela Rayner from her membership of the union in an escalating row over the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham, with the trade union also voting to re-examine its relationship with the Labour Party.
The deputy prime minister was censured at an emergency motion during Unite’s policy conference in Brighton on Friday, with 800 delegates voting “overwhelmingly” to suspend her membership. The union accused Rayner of backing a Labour-run city council that had “peddled lies” and “smeared” workers fighting pay cuts of up to £8,000.
Mountains of rubbish have been accumulating across Birmingham since bin collection workers walked out in January, with an all-out strike continuing since March. The dispute centres on the council’s decision to eliminate Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles, which Unite says will result in significant pay losses for workers.
Union Threatens Labour Split
In a move that could trigger a funding crisis for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, Unite delegates also backed a motion to “discuss our relationship with Labour” if the redundancy process continues. Unite is one of Labour’s biggest financial backers and the largest affiliated union to the party.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham launched a scathing attack on the deputy prime minister, saying: “Unite is crystal clear it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette. Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.
She added: “The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises. People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.”
Multiple Suspensions Announced
Birmingham council leader John Cotton and other Labour councillors who are Unite members have also had their memberships suspended for their roles in what the union describes as “effectively firing and rehiring the workers.
All those suspended have been accused of “bringing the union into disrepute,” with Unite confirming there will be an investigation into their behaviour with a “view to expelling them from the union.
ITV News understands that Rayner, a former Unison representative, had actually resigned her membership some months ago, though the union proceeded with the suspension vote regardless.
Background to the Dispute
The industrial action has now dragged on for more than 100 days, causing significant disruption across Britain’s second-largest city. The dispute began after the council announced plans to eliminate the WRCO role, which Unite claims is “safety-critical.
According to the union, approximately 150 to 170 workers face annual pay cuts of up to £8,000, with hundreds more losing out on pay progression opportunities. Unite also argues the WRCO role is vital for health and safety standards.
Birmingham City Council disputes these figures, claiming only 17 workers would face the maximum pay cut of just over £6,000, and that all affected staff have been offered alternative roles at equivalent pay, training as large goods vehicle drivers, or voluntary redundancy packages.
Government Intervention Attempts
The deputy prime minister has been actively involved in trying to resolve the dispute. In April, Rayner toured Birmingham waste depots using strike-breaking labour and urged workers to accept a deal that would have reduced their wages.
She met council leaders in Birmingham on a Saturday to discuss ways to clear the waste backlog after the council declared a major incident in March when 17,000 tonnes of rubbish were left uncollected on city streets.
A Downing Street spokesman had urged Unite to “focus on negotiating in good faith, drop their opposition to changes needed to resolve long-standing equal pay issues and get round the table with the council to bring this strike to an end.”
Sharon Graham’s Leaked Letter
The union’s anger towards the government was evident in a leaked letter from Graham to Rayner, reported by the BBC. In it, Graham told the deputy prime minister that the government could no longer say the strike was “nothing to do with us” and accused them of using “false narratives” in government statements about the dispute.
Graham responded to government criticism by saying: “It is not surprising that many workers in Britain question the Labour government’s commitment to working people when it issues a statement clearly blaming bin workers in a dispute not of their making.
Commissioner Controversy
The emergency motion passed at Unite’s conference specifically condemned “Birmingham council for its threat to effectively fire and rehire, on pain of redundancy, the Unite Birmingham bin workers.” It also criticised the Labour government for its “support to the council and the commissioners, originally appointed by the Tories and maintained by Labour.
Birmingham’s government-appointed commissioners, who answer directly to Rayner, have been accused by the union of never joining negotiations and continually blocking deals to end the strike.
Impact on Residents
The ongoing strike has created a public health crisis in Birmingham, with costs mounting for the cash-strapped council. In March alone, £90,767.20 was spent on pest control services, while over the Easter weekend there were 376 complaints of rats.
Media reports indicate that lower-income inner city areas such as Sparkhill, Balsall Heath, Small Heath, Sparkbrook and Ladywood have suffered disproportionately from piling refuse compared to more affluent suburbs like Harborne and Edgbaston, replicating patterns seen in the city’s previous bin strike in 2017.
What Happens Next
The suspension of Rayner and the threat to re-examine Unite’s relationship with Labour represents a significant escalation in tensions between the union movement and Starmer’s government. If Unite were to disaffiliate from Labour, it would represent a major financial and political blow to the party.
Earlier this week, talks to end the Birmingham bin strike ended in stalemate after the city council admitted it had reached the “absolute limit” of negotiations. Graham has warned that “threats won’t work” and predicted the strikes could continue “into Christmas and beyond” unless the government intervenes.
The union has called on the government to urgently consider its proposal for debt restructuring at Birmingham City Council and other local authorities, arguing that “workers and communities cannot continue to pay the price.
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Image Credit:
Angela Rayner (cropped) – Photo by Chris McAndrew, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
