Unite, the UK’s leading union, has vowed that it will not allow Birmingham bin workers “to pay the price for the council’s failings” after the union was fined by the courts for picketing.

The bin workers have been striking since January 2025 after the council decided to cut their pay by up to £8,000 (between a quarter and a fifth of their earnings). Last week marked the first anniversary of the strike becoming all-out industrial action.

The council has not been in negotiations over ending the dispute since May last year, after they reengaged on a “ballpark deal” agreed with council chief executive Joanne Roney and brokered by the conciliation service Acas.

Unite remains ready to return to negotiations based on the "ballpark deal", but the council has refused and it continues to waste millions trying unsuccessfully to break the strike.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is yet another pathetic attempt to intimidate workers and it won’t work.

“Unite will not allow these workers to pay the price for the council’s failings in their pay packets.

“Instead of using Thatcher’s anti-union laws to injunct the picket line and stop lawful protest, the council should honour the deal scoped out at Acas. They walked out of the room, said they would be back with the deal in writing, and never returned.

“Rather than resolving the dispute, Birmingham city council’s own figures have confirmed they have spent £33 million pounds of Birmingham residents’ money trying to break the strike. It won’t be broken - these workers are fighting for council workers everywhere.

“Unite is very relaxed about the fine, every single penny will come out of Labour’s affiliation fee. So, Labour will be paying for this one and any others that come our way.”

Last week on the anniversary of the all-out strike beginning, Unite’s executive council voted to cuts its affiliation fee to Labour by 40 per cent (£580,000), with the defining issue being the manner in which both the Labour council and Labour government has treated the workers and acted in the dispute.

In an unprecedented development, workers employed by the employment agency Job &Talent joined the dispute at the end of last year, over bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting at the council’s refuse department.

Both the striking Birmingham bin workers and the Job & Talent workers have recently voted to extend their industrial action mandate past local elections in May and into September.

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.