Deal to end Birmingham bin strikes is "imminent", says Labour's deputy leader
Lucy Powell has apologised to Birmingham residents over the 18-month dispute
Last updated 24th Sep 2026
A deal to end the Birmingham bin strikes is "imminent", Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell has said.
Ms Powell, who is also Education Secretary, said she did not know exactly when the strikes would end.
The dispute has been running for 18 months.
She admitted the situation could have been resolved sooner and apologised to people in the city who have had to live with the disruption.
Her comments came after the leader of Birmingham City Council, Roger Harmer, said at the start of September that a deal could be signed within a matter of weeks.
Powell says agreement is "on the table"
Speaking to reporters on the International Day of Birmingham, Ms Powell said:
"It's something I've been closely involved in and looking at over a long period of time, in my role as the deputy leader of the Labour Party as well."
"I think the deal to end the strikes is imminent, it's on the table."
"There is a broad agreement there now and we just need to get that done because it's gone on for far too long and the residents of Birmingham are rightly fed up with not being able to recycle what they want to recycle and not having the bin service that they need."
"That has meant that the council has had to work closely with the workforce to make sure that the job security and the pay requirements are there for the workers as well."
She added: "Could it have been done sooner? Yes, it probably could have been done faster, but it is an incredibly complex situation."
"I'm very sorry to the residents of Birmingham that they've had to live with this for such a long time, but the resolution is now in sight in a way that is good for the workforce, good for the workers in the long term, doesn't open up the city to equal pay claims going forward and most importantly will get these services back up and running."
What caused the dispute
Workers went on strike in January 2025 over council plans to remove a role in its waste recycling and collection service.
The council insisted the change was necessary to make improvements and bring the service in line with other local authorities.
Unite said the move would lead to pay cuts of around £8,000 for hundreds of its members, a figure the council has always disputed.
Rubbish piled up on Birmingham's streets during the dispute, with people complaining it posed a health hazard.
The strike has taken place against the backdrop of an equal pay claim by female staff at the council, which could cost more than £1 billion to resolve.
That equal pay claim was a factor in the council declaring itself bankrupt in 2024.
There have been fears that any new deal could open the council up to further equal pay claims, something Unite has denied.
Government involvement and Labour's local position
Ms Powell denied that the central Government could have got involved to stop the strike.
She said the national Labour Party did not tell the Labour group in Birmingham not to take part in a coalition formed to run Birmingham City Council after the local elections.
The party is due to meet for its annual conference on Sunday 27th September in Liverpool.
Birmingham City Council is currently run by a coalition of Liberal Democrat, Green and independent councillors, with Liberal Democrat councillor Roger Harmer leading the council since June.
Labour is now the fourth-biggest party on the council, which is the largest local authority in Europe.
Ms Powell was asked whether Labour officials had told the local party not to take part in the coalition.
She said: "No, they were decisions for the Labour group."
"I understand them because when you go from running a council, and being the largest group by some margin… then I think you have to accept the verdict there of the voters that they perhaps don't want you anymore to be running the council."
"So I understand that."