Birmingham bin strike deal rejected
Refuse workers in Birmingham have voted to reject a "totally inadequate" offer from the city council
Last updated 14th Apr 2025
Refuse workers in Birmingham have voted to reject a "totally inadequate" offer from the city council aimed at ending a long-running strike over pay, union Unite said.
The action, which began on March 11, has seen thousands of tonnes of rubbish go uncollected and warnings issued of a public health emergency.
Unite said the deal would have included "substantial" pay cuts for workers and did not address potential pay cuts for 200 drivers.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "For weeks, these workers have faced attacks from government and their employer pushing the lie that only a handful of workers are affected by the council's plans to cut pay by up to £8,000.
"Instead of peddling untruths about these low paid workers and focusing on winning a media war, the government should have taken the time to check facts and used its office to bring the council to the table in a meaningful way.
"The rejection of the offer is no surprise as these workers simply cannot afford to take pay cuts of this magnitude to pay the price for bad decision after bad decision."
Military personnel helping Birmingham City Council with its response to the city's bin strike have "operational planning expertise", Downing Street has said.
"The residents of Birmingham are our first and foremost priority," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
"That's why we've provided a number of staff to support the council to help get the streets cleaned up and address the public health risks.
"This includes co-ordinating the local response with local authorities, providing additional vehicles and crews, and opening household waste centres to Birmingham residents and, as set out over the weekend, a handful of office-based military personnel are supporting operational planning and have made themselves available to the council to support.
"And as the Deputy Prime Minister (Angela Rayner) has said, we are now urging Unite to suspend its action and accept the offer that is on the table."
He said the recruits were "purely office-based military personnel with operational planning expertise", with "no plans" to bring in front-line personnel to help the authority.
The spokesman added that more than 100 vehicles had left depots on Monday morning, with 12,500 tonnes of waste cleared since April 4.
"It is incredibly disappointing, that despite several weeks of extensive negotiations, Unite have rejected a second offer of settlement. However, our door remains open.
In a statement the council said:
“The Council must deliver improved waste services for our citizens - who simply deserve better.
"We must also guard against future equal pay claims, and while we have sought throughout the negotiations to protect pay for individuals, Unite’s proposals focus solely on retaining a role that does not exist in other council’s and represents an equal pay risk for Birmingham.
“We have made a fair and reasonable offer and every employee affected by the removal of the WRCO role could take an equivalent graded role in the council, LGV Driver training or voluntary redundancy packages.”