General Features

Thousands of striking council workers filled Victoria Square on Tuesday 5th of February 2008. On the stage in front of Birmingham City Council House, a folk singer sang.

Strikers in Victoria Square

The crowd greeted his questions: "are there any teaching assistants on this picket line?" and "are there any care workers on this picket line?" with the loudest cheers of the rally.

Earlier that day, 8am, David Buckley was picketing the council buildings at Lancaster Circus. He attempted to sum up why the strike was happening:

"There's been a new grading system that has been brought in - that's supposed to be about equal pay. But what's actually happened is that they've been downgrading people by as much as £18,000 - mainly women, actually.

"They say that the majority of people are benefiting - but cleaners are only benefiting by about £1.50.

Strikers in Victoria Square

"The big picture is that there are big changes in the council - like privatisation and performance related pay. So it's not just the fact that people are being downgraded - it's the changes in the contracts that we're opposing here today."

"Basically, we're being manipulated"

Carol, a carer from Selly Oak home care team, was at the rally in Victoria Square. She explained why she was striking:

"Technically - we're supposed to be the so-called winners [from the 'single status' re-grading]. But we're not winners at all - we've still not achieved equal pay - in effect - people have had wages taken off them and spread around to give to us.

"Basically we're being manipulated. They first told us our start rate would be around £16,000 - £24,000. But now they're offering £13,500 across the board on Grade Two. It's a bit up [from our current wages] - but it's not what we're supposed to get.

Teaching assistants, Victoria Square

"With the new legislation - we get a lot of people with mental health needs coming into the community - and we're expected to provide a service without training. And with the new regime - we'll be expected to go anywhere - all over the borough."

Teaching assistants

Carol, a teaching assistant, was at the rally: "Our contracts are going to be changing - we don't know if we'll be working at the schools we're at now - or being told to go to any other school if they're short staffed. We've been told we could be working 7 'til 7.

"We've been kept in the dark. We've been told our money is being pro-rata'ed down. Holiday pay being taken off us. We'll be classed as part-time, instead of full time - which was promised. It will cost us money in the long run."

"We're level three (£14,000 - £17,000). We know Grade Two (£11,000 - £14,000) have lost £3,000 per year".

Jennifer, teaching assistant at a special school, Handsworth. She said:

Strikers in Victoria Square

"We haven't seen our contracts yet - we don't know if it will cost us money. Single status was about people doing the same jobs, getting the same money. But it has been hijacked basically - to re-grade and structure out contracts. Some people will be losing money and doing more hours.

"We're not happy - we're still in the dark. We know some people have lost out - and we're still waiting to hear. "

"They're threatening to sack us"

Marie teaches aerobic classes in Handsworth. She was carrying a 'we got a grudge with Rudge' poster. She said: "It's the sneaky way they brought the contracts in. They misprinted - and forgot to put in certain things in there.

"They're threatening to sack us - as far as we're concerned they can't sack us unless we do something really serious. I'll be losing money - they'll be cutting my hourly rate by over half.

"All the aerobic teachers get around £16 - £21 per hour depending on how many people you get in your class.

"Now they want to take us down to £9 per hour for everybody - which is going to hit a lot of people - women especially, who do aerobics as their central job - they're going to lose half their daily pay."

Darren, Victoria Square

Cleaning and housing

Jackie, domestic supervisor at a residential home for the elderly, went to the rally with 'domestics' - cleaners from the home:

"We've had our new contracts and we've all been put into new gradings - and none of us agree with them. There's inconsistency within the grading - some people were given ten points for work conditions and other people given thirty points. Yet we all work in the same work conditions.

"The domestics [they clean etc - for £6.09 an hour] have only had a two pence pay increase - they give up their Christmas days, boxing days, bank holidays and none of that has been taken into consideration.

"I think the next thing they will try and do is take the double time for weekends. Everyone will suffer. Cost of living is going up, but our wages ain't."

Strikers in Victoria Square

Nick - assistant housing officer, earns £16,900: "My wife and I both work for the council. My wife works for social care and health. We're both losing at least a thousand pounds a year each.

"We can just about manage at the moment - but £2000 is going to be very difficult to cope with. We're going to have to be really careful from now on.

"I suspect the council are being opportunistic."

The 'big picture'

Darren, from the housing department, was on strike even though he was not facing a cut in wages. He said: "The government is supposed to be here for us - the working class people - but they're not doing anything for the working class people are they? They're taking money off us left right and centre - so what can we do?

"You've got to support everybody else - haven't you? What are we supposed to do? Let the council walk all over us and not do nothing?

"Everybody is unhappy. There's not many people who have had increases."

Darren then mentioned that "big picture":

Strikers in Victoria Square

"If [the council] are trying to save money then they want to stop doing all these private tenders and putting these private contractors in - who are charging them. A £20 job ends up costing them a £100.

"Just to change a lightbulb can cost £145 - with the private contract we've got. The standard rate for a call-out job is £21.56 - even if the person is not in - they still get charged for it."

Business transformation

Bridge engineer Paul works for the Highways department - and was on strike on Tuesday - even though his wages are not being cut. He sees the re-grading as a step towards privatisation - a mistake in his opinion.

Paul: "I've worked for the city for many years - I've worked for local government for many years. I work in the public sector - because I believe in the public sector. I believe the public sector is here to provide a service - and not to rip the public off.

"It worries me when I see the private sector coming in - because they're there to make a profit - and nothing wrong in that, in moderation.

Strikers in Victoria Square

"But we all know in PFI's [private finance initiatives] - the sort of profits they're taking is 25-30%. That is scandalous. Normally with civil engineering contracts - we're talking 3, 4 or 5% at best.

"Now we've got the situation that [the council are] willing to hand over phenomenal sums over, just as clear profit. It never comes back to the service.

"I expect Birmingham to provide my services"

Paul: "I live in Birmingham - and I expect Birmingham to provide my services. I have an elderly father, my mother died a few years back, she had to go into a care home. The care facilities in Birmingham are appalling.

Paul, engineer

"It has horrified me to see adverts going out for care workers which have got Capita on. Capita is a private company. It's not Birmingham providing the service - it's a private company - taking huge profits out of it.

"This is not the way to provide services to the people of Birmingham. It is horrifying.

"What we're going through at the moment - pay and grading. Is actually to change the terms and conditions of employment - making us ready for privatisation - part of business transformation.

"The city is looking at a big programme of business transformation. It has brought in a consultant - Axon Global - who they've paid an absolute fortune to - to look at efficiencies within the city. Axon Global is a private company - it just wants to make money out of the city.

"To do that it's looking at externalising services - there's no secret about this - government has issued a white paper on how it sees government in the future - both central and local government. It's looking towards the private sector providing more of the services within these areas. It's about privatisation.

"Now the council doesn't have to go that way - but this council has chosen to go that way.

"The history of the council is that they first started because private companies ripped the public off for services. Private companies took huge profits and only gave a service where they could make profit. Where it couldn't - it wasn't interested in providing a service.

Strikers in Victoria Square

"And that's what the council is about - providing a service for the whole of Birmingham. The council can't pick and choose - but the private sector will do that.

"If I mention the PFI for highway maintenance - the council seems to think they'll somehow be able to influence the service that the contractor is going to give - it will have some kind of local input. Well it might do - but at a huge cost.

"Basically it's about making profit out of providing a service - and we shouldn't be doing that."