Report to be presented to council cabinet tomorrow shows resolving dispute fairly would cost a fraction of the price

A Birmingham council report to be presented to its cabinet tomorrow showing that its attempts to break the bin strikes have cost a staggering £33.4 million is still likely to be an underestimation.

The report, by director of finance Carol Culley, identifies the following costs: £4.2 million in lost income from bulky waste, commercial waste and paper, £4.4 million in lost income from green waste and £10.2 million in ‘street scene saving non-delivery’.

The report also states that £14.6 million has been spent in direct costs, including “street cleansing, mobile household waste and recycling centres, security costs and additional support”.

Around £19.4 million of the total costs are expected to be funded by the council cutting spending in other areas. Putting additional pressure on other under-funded services.

The report is likely to underestimate the true cost of the council’s colossal mishandling of the dispute, which is over fire and rehire pay cuts of up to £8,000 for drivers and former WRCOs (waste recycling and collection officers).

For example, it is not clear what “direct costs” in the report include. Council contract data shows it spent an extra £12.6 million in the first 11 months of 2025 on agency and contract staff (compared with the whole of 2024). If these costs are not already included, the total comes to £56 million.

In comparison, a fair deal for the bin workers would cost much less. The “ballpark deal” agreed at the conciliation service Acas in May last year and then reneged upon by the council, would cost just a fraction of the millions wasted.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “While council officials have been repeatedly refusing to engage in negotiations with Unite, the council has squandered millions of council taxpayers’ cash. Costs are mounting every day. The council now needs to get in the room because these strikes will not end until there is fair deal for Birmingham’s bin workers.”
 
The council claims it cannot honour the ballpark deal, involving fair compensation payments for downgraded drivers and former WRCOs, as it would create new equal pay liabilities.

Unite has shared with the council its own expert legal advice comprehensively disproving this. The council, however, has refused to share its own legal advice on the matter either to the union or its own councillors.

Unite believes that the council is using equal pay as a smokescreen to break any opposition to the cuts it wants to inflict on bin workers and ultimately to other staff and services across the council.

ENDS

For media enquires ONLY contact senior Unite communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215 or 020 3371 2065. 

Email: ryan.fletcher@unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.