Back in spring 2025 it was being said with almost comic tones – “at this rate, we’ll be here until Christmas”.
But that’s exactly what happened. Refuse workers at Birmingham City Council, now joined by some of their agency colleagues, are still in dispute with the authority over several different aspects of pay and conditions.
Any disruption to main waste collections is mostly being mitigated by the council – at an extra cost. But recycling rates are dire and mean the second city, already performing badly on that metric, has sunk further.
The council insists it has made a fair offer and is now pushing forward with key modernisation by June 2026, meaning fortnightly collections and a new food waste service – whether or not workers are still on strike.
But the council cannot realistically make financially efficient long-term waste improvement changes for residents without a fully functioning workforce.
Unite says no credible deal has been made, that no workers should have to accept pay cuts, and that it’s in for the long haul. The union continues to man picket lines and pay an allowance to workers who are in dispute.