Bin strike dispute escalates

Nearly 400 refuse workers in Birmingham launched indefinite strike action on 11 March against the scrapping of key roles in the workforce. The strike will affect the refuse collections of over a million people.

The strikes, which began in January, are due to the council’s decision to cut the role of waste recycling and collection officer which, the workers’ Unite union has said, is “safety-critical”.

If the role is cut, 150 workers stand to lose £8,000 from their salary. (Birmingham council claims that some of the workers have accepted other roles, and that the maximum loss would be £6,000.)

On the first day of the strike, police were called in to escort strike-breaking agency workers past the picket line at the depot in Tyseley.

This was not the first time during the dispute that management had called the police on the strikers.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The disgraceful use of unlawful labour to try and break the strike has just resulted in industrial action escalating."

There is concern among the workforce about more pay cuts to come. Most refuse workers in Birmingham earn little more than the minimum wage and gave up £1,000 in shift pay after the council declared bankruptcy in 2023.

Birmingham council’s finances are being controlled by unelected commissioners, leading Unite to call it a “zombie council”.

Graham said: "The only way this dispute will end is by halting the brutal and unnecessary attacks on our members’ pay.”