Summer of discontent brewing in Birmingham as the heat rises on union and city council to reach a deal to end the strike
Striking bin men at the picket line on Redfern Road outside the Atlas council depot.(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Defiant Birmingham bin workers say they are desperate to get back to work but could stay on strike ‘all summer’ if a deal is not struck with the city council that protects their pay.
The warning of a summer of discontent was repeated by Unite union leader Sharon Graham, even while talks are taking place that are aimed at being ‘conciliatory’.
Birmingham bin lorry drivers issued the warning that they are determined to ‘stick it out’ after news emerged that they could be in line for a pay cuts bombshell.
READ MORE: Unite boss urges Birmingham council leader to honour offer or quit ahead of crunch bin strike talks
They say they have ‘no intention of giving in’ unless the council protects their pay and conditions. Said one driver, with nearly a decade’s service: “I want to go back to work – it is a struggle financially for everyone to be on strike, but we can hold out all summer if need be. The council needs to do the right thing.”
Striking workers confirmed Unite the union was paying from £70 to £110 per strike day to the around 350 workers who have downed tools. So far the costs to the union are well over £1 million, with additional legal costs on top.
Bin workers on strike outside Atlas, the council depot in Tyseley.
The defiance of the bin workers and their union leaves residents, business and community leaders fearful of weeks more of discontent and disruption.
Plans are under way to hold a Brum Strikes Mega Picket next week, with multiple unions from across the city, to ‘show solidarity with the striking binworkers’.
Talks between the two sides, hosted by conciliation service Acas, ended without a deal announced on Thursday May 1, with further talks set to take place next week.
Speaking earlier this week, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told BirminghamLive: “We thought last week we were in touching distance of a deal because Unite put proposals forward that had been in line with what the council said.
““John Cotton (city council Labour leader) had been in the media saying nobody was going to lose any money. So we assumed at that point: ‘OK we should be in touching distance of a deal if those two things are correct’.
“What has happened subsequently is drivers were told they were likely to lose £8,000 as well. For me that’s an escalation of the dispute.”
The council’s waste truck drivers – so far unaffected – learned on Tuesday, April 19, they were in line to have their job status and pay downgraded as part of a separate equal pay review taking place across the council.
Uncollected household waste and rubbish blights the corner of a street as Birmingham council refuse collectors continue their strike on April 15, 2025
The news triggered an outpouring of anger, with some drivers who had continued working through the strike choosing to down tools. In at least one case, a driver heading out on his round apparently stopped and returned to the depot to join the pickets after learning of the plan.
One, a father-of-two, said he was not surprised to learn of the downgrade plan. “I have been saying for months, years even, that the council is coming for us, that it wanted to ease us out.”
He said he suspected the council intended to reduce the number of its crews when collections go fortnightly, and this was a way to drive out some workers.
“We are always the scapegoats, they come for the bin workers first. I imagine we won’t be the first to face a downgraded job, so everyone needs to look out for who is next.”
“I was stupid enough to believe the council when they told us we would not be affected. How stupid was I?” said another driver with a decade’s service who is at the top end of the driver/team leader pay scale, on £40,500.
He said he fears he will lose £177-a-week if the role is downgraded to Grade 3, on a pay scale of £26,409 to £32,654.
A letter sent to drivers last August has also emerged, seen by BirminghamLive, in which senior managers told them a dispute under way over plans to transform the service would only impact a small group of colleagues. It stated: “There are no proposed changes to your job.”
It also urged them not to heed ‘rumours that may circulate’, adding: ‘Please do not worry unnecessarily.’
We have verified the identities of drivers who contacted us but at their request are protecting their anonymity. They say they fear that speaking out publicly could hasten their departures.
Birmingham City Council said the issue over its job evaluation exercise, which is being carried out alongside the three main workforce unions at the council, incuding Unite, was not connected to the current dispute.
Trouble erupted after the role of Waste Recycling and Collections Officer on the bin crews was ‘deleted’ in January by the council, affecting 170 staff. Industrial action escalated to an all-out strike on March 11.
Truck drivers who have contacted BirminghamLive in the last week say they are being ‘undervalued’ for their hard work overseeing crews and driving trucks through the city’s narrow streets and facing regular abuse and attack.
Information is now circulating of a planned ‘mass picket’ outside the bin depot in Lifford Lane, Kings Norton, on May 9. The move is said to be backed by multiple unions including ADCU, Aslef, BFAWU, Birmingham Trades Union Council, Birmingham People’s Assembly, Birmingham UCU, CWU West Midlands, Equity, the Fire Brigades Union, the General Federation of Trade Unions, Peace and Justice project, PCS, Unite for a workers’ economy and We Demand Change.
Birmingham City Council said talks about the current dispute were ‘ongoing’.
Regarding the job evaluation process and the downgrade indicated for driver team leaders, it said: “This fair and transparent job evaluation process, jointly agreed with trade unions, is necessary to ensure the council complies with equal pay laws….the final workshop on the driver team leader’s role involving all Trade Unions…is part of an ongoing process of quality assurance and moderation, and this is an indicative grade which is subject to further collective consultation.
“We remain committed to delivering a fair and sustainable deal for drivers and collectors and we will continue those discussions with Unite at scheduled talks.”