Birmingham: Award-winning actor Khalid Abdalla is backing the Birmingham bin workers on strike in a dispute about fair pay.
The London-based film and TV star – who played Princess Diana’s lover Dodi Fayed in season six of The Crown – has put his weight behind the city’s refuse workers who are currently taking industrial action, led by Unite the union.
Unioned bin workers began an all-out strike on 11 March after disputing the city council’s decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles and the resulting pay cuts.
Unite has said about 170 affected workers face losing between £6,000 – £8,000 a year because of the decision, and Birmingham City Council’s failure to reach an agreement has caused waste to pile up across city streets as the strike entered its ninth week.
Movie star Khalid Abdalla, who has also appeared in Hollywood films United 93, The Kite Runner and Assassin’s Creed, posed for a photo last Saturday with a poster expressing solidarity with the city’s bin workers.
The support was also echoed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who believed the striking staff members were “going to win”.
Speaking at the Counterfire ‘Revolution!’ conference in London, the independent MP said: “My message to our colleagues in Birmingham on strike is you’re on strike because the council has reacted to the financial crisis of Birmingham Council by trying to cut your wages and cut your income levels.
“You’re on strike defending, what is a very basic thing, the collective agreement you’ve reached on the levels of pay you receive, so you have my support in the strike you’re undertaking and don’t be intimidated.”
On Friday, several trade unions gathered outside the Lifford Lane depot in Kings Norton to stand with the Unite bin workers, congregating with placards, banners and an inflatable rat as they chanted and delivered speeches backing the strike.
Lifford Lane refuse collector Aaron Phipps said he was “devastated” by the situation and how much “financial stress it’s caused me and my family at home”.
“Basically, I came into work one day in January. I was told that I’m going to be losing £400 a month, every month forever, so it wasn’t just me who was told that, it was the majority of the workforce, so now we’re out here on strike.
“Fair play to Unite, they’ve been having our back from the get-go, so appreciate them for that. However, we’re just waiting on negotiations now and it seems like they’re taking a hell of a long time. I mean, the sooner they get sorted, the quicker we can get back to work and get this city back up to the standards that it should be.
“I wanna go back into that job knowing that there is a framework set for at least the next 20 years of my career.”
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said the strike was about “stopping austerity being imposed on refuse workers”.
“Today’s rally is to support our members working in the refuse service and I want to be really clear about this, we’re not asking for extra money, we’re not asking for improvements in terms and conditions, we’re defending pay.
“The dispute began because the employer decided it was going to delete posts and in the middle of negotiations it also decided it was going to cut pay for another 200 workers as well, so this really is about defending pay and conditions.”
Former city councillor and NHS worker Salma Yaqoob also spoke to the crowd, telling them:
“This is a battle now. “We are seeing huge pay rises for bosses, for senior leaders and [for] the same people saying ‘there is no money, there is no alternative’, but that is a lie.
“It’s not just a four-legged rat that Brummies need to be worried about, it’s the two-legged rat that in the corridors of power, in the Council House and in Parliament, and we are here to say enough is enough!”
Last month, Birmingham musicians UB40 gave their backing to the Birmingham bin strikers.
Drummer Jimmy Brown revealed the English reggae band “We’re fully on their side.”
“I think they shouldn’t give up, they should still be fighting. Working people shouldn’t have to take a reduction in their incomes, which is what we’re talking about here.
“We’re talking about people being paid less and it seems to me with prices going up, heating, buying food, inflation and rents going up then people need a decent wage to have a half decent life… keep going boys!”
Lead singer Matt Doyle said: “It’s a shame that what we’re seeing is all the images of rats and rubbish building up, that is going to happen inevitably, but we’ve just got to keep fighting through that.”
