Back Birmingham's Refuse Workers
Angela Rayner and Labour | Stop Attacking Workers
It’s time to get in the room and deliver.
What is happening? Hundreds of Birmingham refuse workers are on strike against pay cuts of up to £8,000. They are now being threatened with tactics like “fire and rehire”.
Labour’s Angela Rayner is the minister responsible and Unite has been told that her government commissioners are blocking a deal. Angela is missing in action. She has refused to negotiate and is hiding behind the people she employs. It’s time to get in the room and deliver.
Download the latest flyer and take action today – send Angela a message to Stop Attacking Workers
Donate to the Birmingham Bin workers Strike Fund
Unite members sent messages of solidarity and support at Unite's Policy Conference in Brighton.
Donate today to the workers that have been taking action for months and months: Send funds to:
Unite Solidarity Fund
60-83-01 | 20502672
Ref: BCC strike donation |
Thank you for your support.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it ... The offer briefed to the press for all affected workers simply never existed and the new ballpark offer discussed at Acas has now been blocked by government commissioners. Instead of trying to injunct picket lines and attack workers, the council leader should stop playing games, get in the room and solve this dispute."
UPDATE | Labour - stop blocking the deal
- Birmingham council leader John Cotton has not been in one single negotiation meeting
- The bones of a possible deal thrashed out with Acas are now being blocked by government commissioners.
What the Labour government should do:
- Restructure Birmingham council’s debt and stop profiteering on inflated interest rates charged by the Treasury.
- Instruct John Cotton to get into negotiations and do the deal.
- SIGN: Tell Rayner and Labour to stop attacking Brum bin workers
- Send Birmingham council’s leader John Cotton a postcard & say ‘Stop attacking your workers’
- Sign the petition to the lead commissioner Max Caller and council leader cllr John Cotton
- Question the auditors | What is Grant Thornton's track record?
- Send a message of solidarity to the workers
Strikes by over 350 Birmingham bin workers to intensify
Since the council effectively declared bankruptcy in September 2023, refuse workers have accepted cuts to their pay and terms and conditions and worked with management in good faith to ensure services continued.
But now strikes by 350 workers will intensify
This dispute was sparked by the council’s decision to abolish the safety critical Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role - resulting in pay cuts of up £8,000 for 150 workers – as well as a catalogue of cuts across a service that is already on its knees.
The service is also facing greater pressures from ageing vehicles and the lack of staff with no new full time hires. With an increasing reliance on agency staff, although many have worked for the refuse service for years, service pressures are increasing, recycling rates are below average and public abuse and anger has been amplified.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite will not stand by and allow the council and this Labour government to inflict these savage pay cuts on workers. It is completely unjustified and a clear escalation of the dispute. It will not be accepted. No worker should be expected to lose these eye-watering amounts of money from their pay packet."
Unite regional officer Zoe Mayou said: “Unite’s door remains open to meaningful discussions with the council to resolving this dispute. It is the council that bears the responsibility … its behaviour towards its directly employed staff is vindictive and does nothing to solve the operational problems that are staring it in the face.”
Background details and what you can do
- Birmingham council leader John Cotton has not been in one single negotiation meeting
- The bones of a possible deal thrashed out with Acas are now being blocked by government commissioners.
What the Labour government should do:
- Restructure Birmingham council’s debt and stop profiteering on inflated interest rates charged by the Treasury.
- Instruct John Cotton to get into negotiations and do the deal.
Since the council effectively declared itself bankrupt last September, refuse staff represented by Unite have worked with management in good faith to ensure services continue to operate despite detrimental impacts to their pay and working conditions. Refuse staff have worked with management and:
- Accepted route changes
- Dealt with greater safety pressures
- Managed increased vehicle age and failures
- Accepted cuts to overtime allowances
- Seen reductions in night time allowances
The response from management has been to ask for more. More job cuts, more reductions in roles and safety, more reliance on agency staff, and less investment in the service including in a modern well managed vehicle fleet. The danger is:
- Increasing vehicle failure with an ageing fleet
- Greater safety pressures as vehicles fail
- Lower recycling rates
- As service run into the ground and ripe for privatisation
- SIGN: Tell Rayner and Labour to stop attacking Brum bin workers
- Send Birmingham council’s leader John Cotton a postcard & say ‘Stop attacking your workers’
- Sign the petition to the lead commissioner Max Caller and council leader cllr John Cotton
- Question the auditors | What is Grant Thornton's track record?
- Send a message of solidarity to the workers
- Government commissioners are blocking any deal and supporting the council, who are trying to impose massive pay cuts on working class cuts on working class refuse staff.
- They are exaggerating the risk of any equal pay claim to try and stop a deal being reached and to cut pay.
- Loaders are facing a pay cut of up to £8,000 due to their role being deleted.
- And drivers are now also being threatened with a huge pay cut, again of up to £8,000.
- Reality is that this is austerity “Mark 2”. And once again it’s the workers who are being asked to pay for a mess they did not create.
- Meanwhile government commissioners are being paid up to £1,200 per day and Councillors allowances are due to rise again.
Download a model motion for Trade Union and Labour party branches
We believe that the whole trade union movement is behind the Birmingham bin workers, striking back against £8,000 a year pay cuts. We also think the vast majority of Labour party members are on their side. Trade union branches can send messages of solidarity and can donate to the strike fund. Loads of trade union branches doing this helps strengthen the resolve of our members and isolates the council leadership and the government commissioners.
And masses of Labour party members speaking up on the side of these striking workers can put the council leadership and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner under real pressure to negotiate a deal that is fair by Birmingham’s workers and residents.
Download a model motion for your branch here [PDF version] (or Word version) and please tell us when you pass the motion by emailing the team.
Take action | Support Birmingham's refuse workers and get your rubbish and recycling collected and the dispute sorted
Send a message to council leader cllr John CottonAll the news and updates from Unite's campaign
Unite conference votes overwhelmingly to re-examine relationship with Labour and suspend Angela Rayner from Unite membership over Birmingham bins dispute
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Ombudsman urged to investigate Birmingham commissioners’ financial conflicts in keeping bin strike going
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Just five per cent of Birmingham residents likely or very likely to vote Labour in next year’s local elections
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Birmingham bin strike could last until December as workers vote for further industrial action
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Birmingham council finally presents 'watered-down' bin dispute proposal
Read moreBirmingham bin dispute | Video updates
❓ Could you handle an £8,000 pay cut? Our members aren’t striking for more money; they’re taking a stand to protect what they already have. Updates from the Unite team on the ground in the ongoing Birmingham refuse workers' dispute. Hear from workers on the ground, plus Unite general secretary Sharon Graham and Unite lead officer Onay Kasab.
