The Birmingham Refuse Collectors' Strike

Kate1949

I live in Birmingham but our area doesn't come under Birmingham Council fortunately. We travel around the city and have seen no piles of rubbish. The press go to the worst places to report. This strike, although awful, has become an excuse for fly tipping by some. My sister lives in Birmingham and has not let her rubbish pile up. They go to the local tip, which is free of charge.

"......seen no piles of rubbish......"

Then you must be going around with your eyes well and truly shut!

What army? Hardly any soldiers left!

I feel so sorry for the residents of Birmingham having to live with the mess and stench, and rats and mice. I resly think the army should be clering the mess away.

For years this council ( and lots of others) have been paying women doing a job of equal parity a much lower wage.
Now the women have won their case it’s time to pay the piper.

capx.co/how-to-solve-birminghams-bin-strike

What about lobbying the local MP?

Well Reeves settled with the doctors, the train drivers and the teachers. With no change in their working practices. The rest of public sector workers are lining up now. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Gwenisgreat1

I feel so sorry for the residents of Birmingham having to live with the mess and stench, and rats and mice. I resly think the army should be clering the mess away.

No, The Army should not be cleaning up this mess.

I feel sorry for the residents of Birmingham as I remember a refuse collectors and street cleaners strike in London when we'd just moved there. People were throwing rubbish in a small area of waste land behind our houses and it was the first time I'd seen a rat - in our garden and very well fed by the look of it.

No, not all refuse collectors will lose £8,000 in pay. The Council proposes to abolish the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role and that Unite's claim about pay cuts and job losses are unfounded.

Birmingham Council also needs to get a grip, stop wasting money and concentrate on the essential services for which it is responsible.

I live in south Birmingham, and yes I have seen rubbish bags stacked up. But they are neatly stacked.
The television news just seem to focus on the side of the city where fly tipping and illegal rubbish dumping is commonplace, those problems are there constantly.
Most people are doing their level best to contain the rubbish bags and keep their own areas as tidy as possible.
Birmingham council have a lot to answer for, roll on the local elections....

My DM lives in Birmingham and there are no piles of rubbish near her. As another poster said one can take one's rubbish to the local tip. Many are choosing not to. There's absolutely no reason to throw your rubbish on the street.

Or they can't. People paying for a service and then having to do it themselves. I am not sure it is the people who refuse to do that that are in the wrong!

Not at all mae. Hand on heart the only place I have seen piles of rubbish in Birmingham streets in on TV or the papers.

Yes indeed it must be dreadful, however would you be prepared to take a £8.000.00 cut in your salary? Thin abut it.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Well Reeves settled with the doctors, the train drivers and the teachers. With no change in their working practices. The rest of public sector workers are lining up now. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

It's not straightforward like those settlements at all. It is specific and local and particular.

It is really does seem intractable.

If this group of 50 workers gets paid the £8000 they lost because jobs have been redefined there are implications for many more workers then who claim "parity" to then also claim more and the council cannot afford it.

...... the council then arranged for temporary workers to drive the bin vans and clear the rubbish but the council bin drivers blocked them. The council then turned to the police to stop the bin vans being blocked but the police said it wasn't their job....

mabon1

Yes indeed it must be dreadful, however would you be prepared to take a £8.000.00 cut in your salary? Thin abut it.

But they're not.

As far as I understood it, few senior roles will be abolished and those people found alternative jobs.

A few

chattykathy

My DM lives in Birmingham and there are no piles of rubbish near her. As another poster said one can take one's rubbish to the local tip. Many are choosing not to. There's absolutely no reason to throw your rubbish on the street.

Carting bags of rubbish on the bus to the tip? That is if a bus goes there.

No, the Council needs to sort this asap.

We need accurate numbers losing £8000, it varies!

I found this factsheet dated 28 March 2025 from Birmingham City Council:

www.birmingham.gov.uk/news/article/1552/factsheet_on_industrial_action_by_unite_the_union_in_the_waste_service

The ongoing dispute about the role of Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO), which no other council has, seems now to be about 17 people:

Is this about the WRCO role?

The WRCO role, which Unite are fighting to keep, came about as a result of a previous bin strike. No other council has this role, and if the council gave in, then we would risk creating a huge future equal pay liability.

Will workers in the former WRCO role be forced to lose money?

No worker need lose any money. All workers have been offered alternative employment at the same pay, driver training or voluntary redundancy. That offer remains open.

Are workers losing £8,000 a year?

No. Claims that 150 people could lose £8,000 a year in pay are incorrect. We have made an offer that means no worker need lose any money. The reality is that the number of staff that could lose the maximum amount (just over £6,000) is 17 people, they will have pay protection for six months in line with council policy.

And this:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjlerkp31wo

Perhaps Birmingham residents here could confirm this:

Council leader John Cotton said there are further delays to the rollout of fortnightly bin collections due to the continued dispute between the council and Unite the Union.

He confirmed plans for fortnightly collections, food waste collections to reduce landfill, a new garden waste service and improved recycling were all on hold pending the end of the dispute.

"It is unfortunate the dispute means the changes we have planned for the city to transform waste services are delayed for now," he said.

I live in a county where we have had alternating general waste and garden waste collections and a weekly food waste collection for many years. This year, a separate charge is been made for the garden waste collection at £60 pa per bin. I don't see this as excessive. Councils are under extreme pressure to find increasing amounts of money for adult social care and SEND. An extra £5 a month to have garden waste removed saves me car trips to the council waste recyling centre which is on the other side of the city. The council are amenable to residents sharing the cost, say if two or three households want to pay £30 or £20 each to share a bin.

Why is Birmingham behind other parts of the county on waste policy?

I'm surprised the public haven't taken matters into their own hands. Anyone can empty the bins, and surely a HGV driver could operate the vehicle. All it takes is for enough people to band together, go to the depot and requisition a bin lorry.

The council have tried this with employing drivers and the bin men have stopped the drivers leaving the gates or walked in front of them slowly to halt progress.

If you do not drive or do not have a car you cannot transport your rubbish to the tip.
Seems like civil unrest in Birmingham.
Ms Rayner has been told to intervene after Sharon Graham. leader of Unite, accused her of 'standing by.'
Jim McMahon, the local government minister, is now sent to Birmingham to confront Birmingham City Council and see an agreement reaxhed immediately.

It really isn’t an issue the government should need to be involved in at all. Birmingham City Council, the employees involved and their union representatives need to slug it out. From what I’ve read, I think the council are in the right, except that they should agree a longer pay protection period where people are losing significant amounts.

I live in a county where we have had alternating general waste and garden waste collections and a weekly food waste collection for many years. This year, a separate charge is been made for the garden waste collection at £60 pa per bin.

That's very similar to ours. However, some plastics are now being refused and, if one undesirable piece of plastic is found in the new bags, then the whole bag is unemptied. A stern note is pushed through the door, saying the 'attached leaflet' details what can be recycled. However, there was no attached leaflet so it remains a mystery.

Casdon

It really isn’t an issue the government should need to be involved in at all. Birmingham City Council, the employees involved and their union representatives need to slug it out. From what I’ve read, I think the council are in the right, except that they should agree a longer pay protection period where people are losing significant amounts.

The Local Government Minister could be involved - otherwise what is the point of his job?

This is part of the job description:
Promoting Good Governance:
Ensuring that local authorities operate effectively and transparently, and that services are delivered efficiently and equitably.

We have just driven across the city didn't see to much waste but where it was it was places that are normally full of rubbish that has been dumped. In one particular place bags of waste had been topped with a mattress and settee, so some people are using it as an excuse rather than disposing in the correct way.