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From The Socialist newspaper, 22 August 2012
And the toilet seat medal goes to... Sheffield City Council!
Because that's what around 100 Sheffield council craftsmen think about councillors and management that have left them earning up to £4,000 a year less than labourers after a re-grading exercise.
On strike for the day on 17 August, electricians, mechanics and stone-masons, members of Unite, GMB and Ucatt trade unions, marched down to the town hall after picketing Olive Grove depot from 6am. There they presented the council with their toilet seat medal.
Unite's vote was 81.4% in favour of the walkout, while the other two unions, GMB and Ucatt, secured 100% votes for a strike.
Mark Keeling, Unite convenor said: "The craftsmen have served apprenticeships and taken college courses to do their skilled jobs. At the same time as the council is refusing to review craft wages, it is doing a review of managers' wages in line with equal pay legislation."
On the picket line, most other workers signed the strikers' petition demanding equal pay.
On Monday, these workers along with 480 council Streetforce staff are being transferred over to Amey, a private multinational that has won the 25-year £2 billion Private Finance Initiative contract to repair and maintain Sheffield's roads and street lighting.
Because of penalty clauses in the contract, the craftsmen feel confident that the threat of further strike action can force Amey to concede on pay.
It says something about Sheffield's Labour council when the strikers feel they have more chance of getting re-graded with Amey than a Labour council!
Alistair Tice
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In The Socialist 22 August 2012:
International socialist news and analysis
National Shop Stewards Network
Lobby the TUC on 9 September: Demand a 24-hour strike against austerity
Socialist Party Readers' Comments
Zero-hour contracts mean zero rights
Scrounger? The truth about living on the dole
Tottenham: a year since the riots
Socialist Party news and analysis
Fare rises and rail cuts: Kick the fat cats off our railways!
NHS: Dewsbury mass meeting opposes PFI
Another News of the World perjury charge
Doors close after A-level results
WikiLeaks and Assange: No extradition to the USA
Shafilia Ahmed murder: A question of women's rights
Tommy Walker - tribute to a working class fighter
Socialist Party workplace news
And the toilet seat medal goes to... Sheffield City Council!
Southampton rebels continue fight against council cuts
Victory for One Housing workers
Draconian sentences for Pussy Riot protest will backfire on Putin
Builders plan to stop 'Besna 2' at Crown House
In Brief: POA rejects pensions offer
Socialist Party feature
The Olympics: Sport for all, or just for the elite?
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