‘A Labour council and a Labour government, but workers see no change’
by Nick Auvache, Unite Housing Workers Branch
Housing maintenance and repair workers at Haringey council have decided to take indefinite strike action over the Labour council’s continued refusal to negotiate with them over the issue of pay.
Unite’s members haven’t had a pay rise in over a decade, despite inflation running rampant in recent years. This has left some workers over £6,000 out of pocket.
On 1 June 2022, when the housing service in Haringey came back in-house, workers were given commitments that there would be a pay review within the first six months. None has materialised in the last two years. This contempt for workers has turned anger into strike action.
Photo: Helen Pattison.
Staff who are carrying out exactly the same work in 2024 as in 2014 earn the same rates of pay as they did then.
Unite has compiled a “dodgy dossier” following years of broken promises by management failing to meaningfully negotiate with union members on pay, terms and conditions.
Labour behaving like Tories
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a Labour-run council behaving like Tories in disguise. It has decimated housing services and is now determined to treat our members – their key workers – with utter disdain. They need to know that Unite won’t stand for it and our members have the full backing of their union in this dispute.”
Haringey Labour council continues to waste money on contractors who are also being used to break the strike, according to Unite. Neither residents nor workers want to see contractors used.
This dispute shows graphically that even with a Labour government and a Labour-run council in power, workers have seen no change in the way they are treated. They will continue to fight industrially but the dispute also raises the need for genuine workers’ political representation. If Unite cannot rely on Labour politicians to represent their members’ interests, then it should consider supporting genuine workers’ candidates.
The Haringey Repairs strikers are calling on other workers to support them. They will be on picket duty from 7.40am at 251 Lordship Lane, N17 6AA every Thursday, followed by a rally opposite Wood Green station at 9.30am. Please pop by to support them.
- Requests for speakers can be made by contacting the branch email: [email protected]
- Donations to the London Borough of Haringey strike fund can be made by sending donations to their bank account here: London & Eastern UG130 – AC: 20461153 – SC: 60-83-01