The streets of Birmingham remain choked with uncollected waste as a bitter bin strike enters its second year, with no end in sight to the industrial action that began in 2025.
A Dispute Rooted in Pay and Equal Pay Concerns
The ongoing crisis stems from a fundamental dispute between Birmingham City Council and the Unite union. The conflict ignited over the council's decision to abolish the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role. Unite argues this change resulted in a pay cut for numerous workers.
The Labour-run council maintains it presented a "fair and reasonable" offer but insists it cannot cross equal pay 'red lines'. Council leader John Cotton stated that meeting Unite's demands could saddle the authority with another equal pay liability running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
From Major Incident to Indefinite Strike
The situation escalated dramatically on 11 March when the strike became an "indefinite" all-out strike. Rubbish swiftly accumulated across the city, forcing the council to declare a major incident at one point as approximately 17,000 tonnes of waste lay uncollected.
While some progress was made in clearing the backlog, the arrival of 2026 sees many neighbourhoods still blighted by bags of rubbish obstructing footpaths and public spaces. In July 2025, the council declared it had reached the "absolute limit" of what it could offer and would move to consult with affected workers on the service transformation.
Megapickets and Political Support
The strike has garnered significant attention, with former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addressing crowds during a second 'megapicket' in July. Corbyn told protesters: "It wasn’t the Birmingham bin workers who got the finances of Birmingham City Council into a mess."
Unite has signalled its resolve to continue the fight, with plans for a third megapicket before the end of January 2026. The union is prepared to sustain the strike action indefinitely.
Despite the ongoing disruption, Birmingham City Council has confirmed its planned overhaul of the waste service will proceed in June 2026, a date already delayed by the strike. The council says it remains open to offers for workers to retrain or be redeployed, but the path to a negotiated settlement appears blocked, leaving Birmingham's streets to bear the burden of the protracted dispute.
