Union boss reveals exactly what was said between her and managing director during negotiations to end long-running strike
05:30, 17 Jul 2025Updated 10:19, 17 Jul 2025
Joanne Roney, left, and Sharon Graham, who met to negotiate an end to the bin strike
The leader of the Unite union has produced messages she says ‘prove’ the Government’s part-time commissioners in Birmingham have been in charge of the bin strike negotiations all along.
General secretary Sharon Graham shared the content of WhatsApp messages she exchanged with the city council’s managing director Joanne Roney at the height of the negotiations to end the dispute.
The candid exchanges appear to clarify any deal negotiated in Acas talks had to be approved by the commissioners and that head of service Roney was not empowered to make decisions.
READ MORE: Revealed – Birmingham bin drivers offered £10,000 ‘compensation’ to go quietly and end strike
That runs contrary to claims the commissioners were only acting in an advisory capacity. The messages also reveal Roney’s ‘frustration’ with the drawn-out process.
In response to the leak, the council has today hit back, describing Unite’s focus on ‘who is in the room’ as ‘a red herring’.
Graham shared the content of the messages when we asked for evidence for her claim commissioners were in charge and had a right of veto during a wide ranging one-to-one interview on Wednesday July 16
The messages detail exchanges between the two high-powered women after they had worked on a settlement with arbitration service Acas in May.
The first WhatsApp message was sent soon after the conclusion of talks at which Graham had set out clearly the expectations of Unite for its members to Roney.
These included ‘ballpark’ mitigation payments to compensate for the changes in status and pay of around £14,000 for some of the bins staff, rising to £20,000 for drivers.
READ MORE: Massive Labour shocks at Birmingham City Council as veteran councillors axed by party
Roney had responded positively and said she was keen to bring the dispute to a close. They agreed to meet again two days later.
But then Roney sent a message, read out to us by Graham, which said: “I need some more time to deal with the commissioners. I’ve asked the team to keep you informed and Acas advised. Not clear on the issues but you know the discussion is not just resting with me…also the commissioners…it needs wider approval. Frustrating for us all.”
Three weeks later she wrote: “Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. It’s been a challenge for me, it’s not how I usually do business and I share your frustration. However, I now have an offer for you to consider and will meet on Sunday, I am free after 5, I hope you know I fought really hard for this offer which is the closest I can get to what we discussed.”
At the subsequent meeting the council offer was presented, including mitigation payments of £7,000 and £10,000 – half the amount discussed.
Graham takes up the story: “When she came back the deal was nowhere near what we had discussed. She said she could do nothing because of the commissioners. It was made very clear to me the commissioners were blocking the deal.
“These had not been Acas talks – those are the cut-and-thrust discussions, two sides hammering out a deal together, and a deal at the end.
“Instead I was negotiating with someone in the room who can’t negotiate. The people who can negotiate are not in the room.
“I suspect if Acas were able to speak their minds they would say it was a very unusual situation. We were in talks for eight weeks but the employer was only at the table twice in eight weeks.”
She also claimed it was the first and only written deal but it came long after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, local MPs and council leader John Cotton had all come out in the press urging members to ‘accept the fair and reasonable offer’. “But there was none on the table,” Graham claimed.
READ MORE: Birmingham bin collections hit again as striking bin workers cause more disruption
Graham said it was clear to her that those who claimed to be the ‘decision makers’ – including £305k a year managing director Roney – were ‘messengers’ for the commissioners ‘who are controlling affairs without being in the room’.
She also claimed the council’s auditors were also part of the decision-making process. “It’s a ludicrous situation.”
She said of the deal offered by the council: “It was clearly watered down. Joanne Roney sat opposite me and said ‘I’m the decision maker, I am absolutely going to get this deal through, absolutely’ then bobs off for three weeks and comes back with a deal that doesn’t look like it, in any way, shape or form.”
(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
She also claimed the council had not showed any urgency or desire to strike a deal. “The truth of the matter is they were playing games.”
The role of Coun Cotton also came under fire from Graham.
“The leader of the council has not been in the discussions once and I find that a huge abdication of responsibility. I don’t think I have ever had that before, where one of the prime decision makers decides not to come into the room.”
She said it was infuriating he refused to be in the negotiating room yet was quick to seek out interview opportunities to present himself as the person leading on the issue.
She said she had no sympathy for the line the council was wary of involving politicians in the negotiations because of the chaos wrought during the 2017 dispute – when then leader John Clancy went rogue to strike a deal with Unite.
“If something happened before that shouldn’t have happened, you make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Graham. “You don’t say ‘I can now abdicate my responsibility as leader of the council’.
“Residents have had to put up with piles of rubbish for weeks on end – and where is the leader? He is sitting on his hands. I wouldn’t mind if he was not periodically popping up and putting out videos and giving press interviews as if he was in charge of what was happening when clearly he was not even in the room.”
She added: “Politicians are there to lead, he’s leader of the council. He was happy to get involved in the narration but was not in the room – you can’t have your cake and eat it.”
Commissioners, led by Max Caller, were sent in to oversee the council’s affairs in October 2023. They have wide ranging powers to ensure the council follows ‘best value’ rules and recovers from financial distress that triggered its de facto bankruptcy that year.
Previously the council has said it made a ‘fair and reasonable offer’ to end the dispute. It also said any deal could not risk more equal pay liabilities that could further blight the council’s finances.
Birmingham City Council response
We approached the council about the Whatsapp exchange. This is their full response: “The council is under intervention and has commissioners in place because of previous failings.
“It is only to be expected that Commissioners have a role in agreeing to any settlement.
“It is a total red herring to continue to focus on who was or wasn’t in the room and what powers they have. Not one single person within the council has absolute power, and can on their own make a decision as significant as this.
“As Sharon Graham would have to agree any final decision with her Unite members, Joanne Roney would need to agree any final decision with the Leader, Cabinet and Commissioners.
“This is to ensure that the correct process is followed and what is agreed is reasonable and lawful.”