The six-week-long bin strikes could be over this week, as Unite members prepare to vote on a deal
A thick stench of rotting waste continues to coat the air around Birmingham, the smell worsening week upon week as summer temperatures continue to climb.
The bin strikes have now entered a sixth week after members of the Unite union walked out on 11 March, leaving towers of rubbish piled up in the streets and warnings of a public health emergency.
An estimated 17,000 tonnes of rubbish have built up throughout the UK’s second-largest city since initial strike action started in January, before the all-out strike in March.
The Government has also called on military planners to help tackle the mounting piles of rubbish.
The move will see a small number of planners assigned to provide temporary logistical support for a short period. They will be office-based and soldiers are not being deployed to collect rubbish.
Residents – some of whom have not had their rubbish collected since December – said waste on the streets meant it was now common to see large rats scurrying rampant between six-foot-high piles of garbage bags.
Birmingham City Council increased its clean-up effort in recent weeks, offering more than 100 refuse collection vehicles on extended shifts each day. The additional clean-up effort appears to have done little to reduce the ever-growing mass of waste, however, as bin bag upon bin bag piles up.
But there is some glimmer of hope for residents. Refuse workers involved in the pay dispute are this week expected to vote on a “partial deal” to resolve the all-out strike. Unite said there would be a ballot held by the close of play on Monday that may help work towards resolving the situation.
The union’s main disagreement is over the Labour-controlled council’s plan to scrap the role of grade three waste recycling and collection officers (WRCO) – the bin workers who oversee the safety of the back of the bin lorry. Unite believes scrapping the post would put members at risk and lead to hundreds of workers having their pay cut by up to £8,000 a year.
The council disputes the figures, saying only 17 workers will be affected, losing far less than Unite is claiming. Keeping the role risks creating a “huge future equal-pay liability”, the council claimed.
Birmingham City Council was effectively declared bankrupt in 2023, largely due to an equal-pay bill that required the authority to pay out about £760m to underpaid staff, many of them women.
Unite argued the removal of the WRCO role would result in pay cuts for thousands of workers as it was “the first step in a broader campaign of attacks against pay and terms and conditions” for bin workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner visited the city last week and urged Unite to accept the “significantly improved offer”.
Rayner, who is also the Communities Secretary, said she wanted to see “a fair resolution” and believed the council had “moved significantly to meet the demands of the workers so we can see an end to this dispute”.
She said the piles of waste “must be dealt with quickly to address public health risks”.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, attacked the government and council’s approach to the dispute, branding it a “disgrace”.
“Whilst it is helpful that the Government finally realised after weeks that they have a role in this dispute, the constant attacks and briefings against these low-paid bin workers is frankly a disgrace,” she said.
“It is important to reiterate the truth, as opposed to the lies being peddled in an attempt to distract.
She said the proposed deal was “a partial deal on pay protection for a few” but warned the agreement “still leaves these workers worrying about how they are going to pay their mortgages and rent payments in a few months’ time”. The Unite boss added that rubbish lorry drivers were still unaware of what their drop in pay would be, suggesting that the council was proposing a fall of around £8,000.
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Graham continued: “Of course, these workers are in the driving seat around what they wish to accept. Indeed, there is another ballot happening by close of play on Monday. Unite backs these workers 100 per cent.
“Rather than vilifying their low-paid employees, the council should look seriously at the KC-approved offer that Unite has put forward, which deals with the issues and gives these workers and their families dignity and security.
“A notable point was made by one of our members, which Unite believes sums up where we are with this council and could be with others: ‘The council are saying that we should share the pain but not one councillor, including the leader of the council, has been asked to give up a quarter of their pay. We thought when Labour came in they would stop what was happening, we were wrong.’”
The council said talks with Unite have been “productive”.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) offered its support to the strikers and said its members will not step in to help clear rubbish.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Government has already provided a number of staff to support the council with logistics and make sure the response on the ground is swift to address the associated public health risks.
“In light of the ongoing public health risk, a small number of office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise have been made available to Birmingham City Council to further support in this area.
“This builds on a range of measures we’ve supported the council on to date – including neighbouring authorities providing additional vehicles and crews, and opening household waste centres to Birmingham residents.”
