Birmingham City Council has issued an application for an injunction for 6 months prohibiting protesting activities in support of strikes
09:00, 05 Feb 2026Updated 10:27, 05 Feb 2026
New rules for Birmingham bin protests as injunction issued – full list
Birmingham bin strike protesters could be hit with a legal ban from Birmingham City Council as the local authority attempts to shut down disruptive protests outside its depots.
The council has issued an application for a six month injunction to prohibit protesting activities in support of the 14 month strike. The ban would come into force with a threat of prison for anyone who breaks it.
The local authority is looking to ban ‘persons unknown’ – a catchall to include anybody – from blocking entry and exit to its four depots in Tyseley, Kings Norton, Perry Barr and Smithfield.
The new rules would also ban anyone blocking or obstructing any of the council’s street management vehicles within the City of Birmingham, including bin trucks, street scene vehicles, trade waste vehicles and clinical waste vehicles.
READ MORE 13 baby formulas recalled in UK with parents warned – full list
The council insists that lawful protest by supporters of the strike can continue as long as it does not obstruct bin collections. Lawful picketing and protest activity by Unite the union can also continue.
StrikeMap, the organisers of ‘mega pickets’ in the city – which most recently forced a complete shutdown of bin collections last Friday – have strongly criticised the plan, and say it will be resisted.
If the court grants the application, anyone breaching the injunction, or a person who does anything that helps or permits a person to breach the terms of the order, would face legal action for contempt, which carries penalties that at its most extreme would include a prison sentence for up to two years.
They may also be fined and have their assets seized for contempt of court.
A hearing is expected to take place next week, after the council applied for the matter to be heard urgently.
The date, time and location will be published in advance to allow anyone wishing to protest it to make representations to the court.
The council has also published all of the relevant documents about why it is seeking an injunction, including statements, video and photo evidence of obstruction taking place. “Where possible, we have taken steps to make sure supporting documents comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), but some documents may not be fully accessible for users of assistive technology,” they said.
Union members started a series of one-day strikes on 6 January 2025, with an all-out strike launched on 11 March.
Last month, Birmingham City Council said it would be going ahead with a new waste collection regime in the summer, even if industrial action continued.
Unite said there would be no end to the strikes until there was a fair deal for Birmingham’s bin workers.