The union Unite will cut the fee it pays to Labour by nearly £600,000 over the party’s handling of the Birmingham bin strike.
In an unprecedented move, members voted to reduce the money it pays as an affiliate union by 40per cent.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said workers were asking if Labour was on their side and were ‘coming to the end of the line’ with the party.
The union will also ask members at a conference next year whether it wants to continue to affiliate to Labour and pay a fee.
Union members have been on all-out strike for a year in protest at plans to reform the city’s bin collection service.
With no end in sight, the dispute has dragged on with scenes of chaos after bin bags piled up on the streets.
Union members blame the Labour council for refusing to meet their demands as they claim the reforms will lead to lower pay.
A big chunk of Labour funding comes from trade union members, though the percentage amount has fallen under Sir Keir Starmer.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said the move reflected ‘the anger’ of members and demanded Sir Keir become ‘real Labour’
Historically, Unite has been the Labour Party’s biggest affiliate, but funding has been cut in recent years.
Despite backing Labour under Jeremy Corbyn at the election in 2019, it did not donate to Labour during Sir Keir’s 2024 campaign.
Unite refused to endorse the party’s general election manifesto, saying it did not go far enough on protecting workers’ rights and jobs in the oil and gas industry.
In 2020, it announced that it would cut its affiliation fee by 10per cent after Sir Keir took control of the party.
Now, in an unprecedented move, it has cut its financial support still further, adding that the actions of Labour against the Birmingham bin workers will ‘not continue to be tolerated’.
The union said in a statement: ‘Labour’s incompetent behaviour in Birmingham has come on the back of a failed economic strategy, that has left our industrial base fighting for its life.
‘Oil and gas workers facing decimation, buy British defence promises broken, the public sector undervalued and the elderly and disabled under attack.
‘Prior to the rules conference next year (which decides affiliation) Unite has made the decision to substantially cut its affiliation and will now formally consult with its members to see whether they want to remain in the Labour Party.’
Ms Graham said: ‘Unite members are coming to the end of the line as far Labour is concerned.
‘Workers are scratching their heads asking whose side are Labour on, who do they really represent, because it certainly isn’t workers. Workers and communities are paying the price.
‘Labour needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
‘The cut in affiliation fee shows the anger of Unite members. Stop taking workers for granted, spine up, do your job and be real Labour.’
The Birmingham bin strike started a year ago and has become one of the most intractable disputes of modern times.
Residents complain about rats, fly-tipping and being unable to access recycling centres and the council has been forced to take on agency staff to collect waste.
Birmingham City Council said it would start a new waste collection regime in the summer, including a reinstated recycling service, even if strike action continued.
A Labour spokesman said the party was delivering ‘the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation to address low pay, insecure work and poor working conditions, which will benefit 15 million workers’.
