'Enough is enough': Birmingham bin strike protesters gather outside the council house in Victoria Square and threaten a 'council tax strike'

A community activist has threatened a ‘council tax strike’ as Birmingham bins strike protesters gathered for an ‘enough is enough’ rally.

Birmingham City Council and Unite the union have failed to reach a resolution despite negotiations taking place, with the dispute initially being sparked by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role.

The 12 months or so have seen striking workers claim they face a pay cut of £8,000 – a figure the council has disputed.

The Labour-run council has repeatedly insisted that a fair offer had been made before negotiations came to an end last summer.

The authority said at the time it had ‘reached the absolute limit of what we can offer’ amid equal pay fears.

Unite members and their supporters gathered outside the council house on Tuesday afternoon, January 27, with cries of ‘enough is enough’ and ‘clean our city’ being heard in Victoria Square.

During the demonstration, chief organiser Bishop Dr. Desmond Jaddoo MBE told the crowd: “Do you think the residents of Birmingham have had enough?

“Do you believe Birmingham City Council is doing those residents a service that they deserve?”

“No!” was the response from the protesters, which included striking bin workers.

The rally also saw Bishop Dr. Desmond Jaddoo MBE call for Brummies, who are able to do so, to withhold their council tax payments from April 1, 2026.

“Refuse collection is a core service that people pay for through their council tax and Birmingham City Council is failing to deliver it,” he said in a statement.

“With the reforms they have announced, one has to ask: how on earth can they deliver those successfully when the basics are all over the place?

“This state of affairs is no longer acceptable – the people of Birmingham deserve far better than this.”

But the council has previously told residents considering withholding council tax payments while their rubbish went uncollected to think twice.

“It is a legal responsibility to pay council tax and we urge people to continue doing this,” the authority stated.

“The current situation is the result of industrial action taken by Unite the union, not due to the council’s actions.

“Council tax is collected to fund council services generally.”

Bins strike costs

As well as causing disrupting bin collections and attracting unwanted headlines, the strike has inflicted costs of several millions on the council, which declared itself effectively bankrupt back in September 2023.

A recent report by the council’s director of finance Carol Culley has revealed that the forecast one-off and direct costs of the strike will total £14.6m if it continues to the end of March.

These costs include street cleansing, security costs and additional support to tackle the accumulation of waste, and will be met using a combination of the council’s reserves and corporate underspends.