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‘This is not true’: Fresh war of words over Birmingham bin dispute

Hopes of resolving the long-running Birmingham bin strike have suffered a setback after a new war of words over the dispute

By Alan Jones
Published

Members of Unite have been taking industrial action in Birmingham for more than a year and walked out on all-out strike last March.

The union says a decision by the council to reform its waste collection service has led to a huge pay cut for many of its members.

Unite has now accused the council’s lead commissioner, Tony McArdle, and managing director, Joanne Roney, of making “inaccurate and misleading statements” about the dispute.

In a letter to Albert Bore, who chairs the council’s corporate and finance scrutiny committee, Unite national officer Onay Kasab said there had been false claims that the union had ended negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute, and that workers were demanding huge sums of money.

He wrote: “This is not true. These workers are only asking for a fair settlement after the council slashed their pay by up to a quarter. The amount it would cost to end the strikes is dwarfed by the £20 million the council has spent fighting the dispute instead of settling it fairly.”

Uncollected refuse bags and household waste in the Saltley area of Birmingham
Uncollected refuse bags and household waste in the Saltley area of Birmingham, amid an ongoing strike by refuse collectors in the city which began with a series of one-day strikes on January 6 2025. The indefinite strike has led to rubbish piling up on Birmingham's streets. Picture date: Tuesday January 6, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members taking industrial action and the general public deserve better than this. It is astonishing that both the council’s senior officer and lead commissioner have been openly providing councillors and the general public with untrue and inaccurate information about the dispute.

“As for the Government commissioners who have constantly obstructed negotiations, misled on costs and overstepped their remit when it comes to this dispute – they ought to be sent packing.”

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “Whilst we remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement, Unite has rejected all our fair and reasonable offers to end the dispute.

“The value of the lump sums being quoted as a ballpark deal by Unite has never been offered. Unite continue to demand significant lump sums which are simply unjustifiable and do not represent best value for the council and the citizens of Birmingham. We have to protect the public purse.

“We have also invited Unite on multiple occasions to make a proposal to end the strike, which we would fully and carefully consider if they did. Our doors remain open for Unite to put forward constructive suggestions to resolve this dispute, and we want those taking strike action to return to work so we can continue delivering the waste services that the people of Birmingham expect and deserve.

“The council have always utilised agency staff to provide contingency cover for leave, sickness and to cover vacancies in Waste.

“We strongly refute any suggestion that agency workers have been carrying out work normally undertaken by striking workers. We continue to deploy the same number of agency workers on days of action as it we would on any normal working days.”