Unite withdraws all Labour party support during Coventry bin strike

As Erdington prepares to vote in a by-election, Labour candidate Paulette Hamilton’s chances may be impacted by Unite the Union’s withdrawal of support.

Speaking on a Facebook live broadcast, Sharom Graham the general secretary of Unite, suspended the union’s funding to the Labour Party, as the Coventry bin strike against a Labour council continues.

She said: “So let me be very very clear. Until this strike is settled the remaining financial relationship with the Labour Party is now under review. There will be no Labour politician in the Midlands who will get one single penny from my members or any practical support of any kind while this strike is going ahead”.

HGV drivers working for Coventry City council are asking for a pay rise to cope with the increase in the cost of living. They are currently on the 18th day of all-out strike action.

The Labour-led city council has employed external drivers to collect waste during the strike, reportedly at up to twice the hourly rate of the drivers on strike.

Coventry Live has revealed that the council has spent £1.8m on alternative arrangements during the strike.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate in the Erdington by-election, Dave Nellist, himself a former Labour MP in Coventry and a Socialist Party councillor in the city from 1998 to 2012, said:

“In a city of famous union leaders such as Tom Mann and Jack Jones, where a Labour council was first elected in November 1937, this is shameful. For a party that calls itself Labour to pay twice the hourly rate to outside drivers to break a strike than the council pays its own drivers is scandalous.

“Sharon Graham is right to be angry, and the Coventry HGV drivers are right to fight for a decent pay rise. In the months ahead, working-class families in Erdington face a £1,000-£2,000 cut in their living standards as food, fuel, energy, and taxes rise. With 111 live disputes calling for decent wages to combat the cost of living rise, Unite is showing how to fight back.

“I hope Unite members will consider standing as independent, anti-austerity candidates in the May elections – Blue Tories, Red Tories, and Yellow Tories need challenging. Labour doesn’t deserve union support when it attacks workers like this”.