Council workers in Cardiff marched to The Senedd on Thursday as part of their strike over pay. Another three-week walkout is now planned from 25th September. Ka Long Tung spoke to several workers on the march, all from different departments in the council.
Near the end of a two-week strike by Unite members in Cardiff Council, it’s clear to see the impact the action has had on waste collections in the city.
But the strike goes beyond waste service, as refuse workers are just one section among many council employees who have walked out against a real-term pay cut.
Amongst the large crowd of striking council workers who marched from Cardiff County Hall to The Senedd on Thursday, all sorts of different departments were represented.
In North Wales, where council workers in Wrexham and Gwynedd have also been on strike, Unite organised a protest in Llandudno to coincide with the annual gathering of the Welsh Local Government Association. The WLGA is the body made up of council leaders across Wales.
“Our wages have been frozen for many years. The cost of living is going up. And council tax every year goes up, and wages are staying the same,” said Siôn, a gas engineer who has been working for the council for 35 years.
“They give us a slight increase each year. It’s never enough and it’s time to get up. We want more, basically”
Bethan also feels the pressure of the rising cost of living. “I got a mortgage. I got bills to pay,” she explains.
“And food is going up, gas has gone up, electric has gone up. Everything’s gone up. But our pay is going down,” said the worker who has worked in tree planting for the council for nearly 20 years.
Alex, who has worked in democratic services since 2012, has had to move home because of the rising costs. “I can’t afford to buy a house, so I rent. Rental market is going up in Cardiff. So I’ve had to go further and further up the valleys,” he said.
The strike is in response to a pay offer of £1,925 made earlier this year by the National Joint Council (NJC), the body which determines the pay of local government workers.
Although it equates to an increase of between 4 per cent and 9 per cent pay rise depending on individual grades, Unite argues that council workers have seen wages decline dramatically since 2010. The union also points out that in terms of a percentage increase, it’s a poorer deal than last year.
After balloting, Unite members in 23 local authorities across Wales and England broke the 50 per cent minimum turnout threshold to take industrial action. Workers in Cardiff, Wrexham and Gwynedd have already been on strike in Wales.
Both branches in Cardiff and Wrexham are set to strike again from 25 September to 15 October, after going back to work for a week.
On the other hand, workers in Cynon Valley Waste, who also have a mandate to strike, have not yet started action as there have been talks taking place between the union and the council, as Clare Keogh, the national officer for local authorities for Unite, told voice.wales.
Unite says they are open to re-negotiate, but the NJC is not. “All we’re asking for is a decent pay rise. And we’re open to discussions around that. We want to negotiate,” said Keogh.
“But at the moment, the employers both nationally and locally are digging their heels in. And by doing that, they’re letting not only these workers down, but they’re letting members of the public down as well.”
In August, NJC wrote a letter to trade unions saying that the £1,925 pay offer was “full and final” and “fair in the current circumstance”.
As NJC decide the pay offer nationwide, the outcome of the strikes taking place in Wales and England may be restricted by the lack of participation in other local councils.
“The only reason that we don’t have more mandates is because of anti trade union legislation in this country,” said Keogh. “It’s not because our members in other councils don’t support it. And actually everywhere we balloted, our members did vote in favour of strike action.”
She also said that there would be re-ballots in some Welsh councils.
For other unions, UNISON has decided not to take strike action as they couldn’t meet the turnout threshold in some places, even though the majority of its members backed action. The GMB have started balloting their members in Welsh local councils but results won’t be known until 24 October.
John, who has worked for social services for 19 years, hopes more workers will join the strike and urges them to play an active role to demand decent pay.
“Put pressure on your union [to strike],” he said.
The ability of workers to strike is not only determined by workers and unions themselves, however, but also affected by management.
“I have heard of other people being told they can’t strike. And basically being told they should be in work,” said Ryan, who works for housing repair in the council.
Some interviewees’ names have been changed and asked not to be photographed to prevent retaliation.
As the strike is set to escalate, councils will now face the consequences, including uncollected refuse.
“Now, if the employers want to avoid that situation, they know what they need to do – they need to get to the negotiating table with us,” said Keogh.
All the workers voice.wales talked to in the march were determined to continue going on strike in the coming weeks as it seemed to them the only way to achieve what they wanted.
“The only way we can win is together,” said Alex.
“Just stay strong and stick together, and we will get what we want,” said David, a bricklayer in Cardiff Council.
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