Bin workers vote to extend strike into September

Bin strikes across Birmingham are set to continue for at least seven more months after workers voted to extend industrial action into September.

Residents have experienced recycling collection disruption for more than a year after Unite the Union members started a series of one-day strikes in January 2025. All-out strike action began weeks later, on 11 March.

Unite said their decision to extend the strike stemmed from claims Birmingham City Council had "fired and rehired both loaders (former Waste Recycling and Collection Officers) and drivers".

The local authority described the vote as "disappointing" but assured residents it was "driving forward service improvements".

The dispute began over pay and plans to downgrade some bin worker roles, which Unite said would leave many £8,000 per year worse off. The council has denied this figure.

Job & Talent agency refuse workers have also voted to continue striking amid claims of "bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting" at the council's refuse department, the union added.

Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Our members are more determined than ever to achieve a fair settlement, and they have Unite's unwavering support.

"The council needs to get back around the table now, because strikes will not end until we have a fair deal for Birmingham's bin workers."

The local authority has said it would be going ahead with a new waste collection regime in June, even if industrial action continued, and appealed to striking workers to return to work.

Councillor Majid Mahmood said: "All of the 170 former WRCOs (Waste Recycling and Collection Officers) were successfully redeployed or elected to take VR.

"Of the 144 DTLs (Driver Team Leaders), the majority have agreed to accept the new role with the standard 6 months' pay protection, with others taking voluntary redundancy or other alternative roles within the service.

"Given this, it is hard to understand why the strike is continuing."

Leader John Cotton has previously said putting a timeline on the end of the strike would be foolish, as it could not settle on the basis of what Unite had been asking, but that the council remained open to finding a solution.

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