Leader gives update on long-awaited Birmingham bins strike deal

The leader of Birmingham City Council has issued an update on a possible bins strike breakthrough amid fears of future risks.

Councillor Roger Harmer, the Lib Dem leader of the authority, confirmed earlier this month that a bins strike deal could be officially agreed around late September or early October.

The industrial action, triggered by a dispute between the council and Unite the union, first started back in January 2025 and saw the city blighted by rubbish heaps during its height.

But Councillor Harmer gave an encouraging update recently and said positive progress had been made between Unite and the council, now run by a coalition including the Liberal Democrats and Green Party.

“The process we need to go through is to get a deal arranged and then that has to go through various checks,” he told BBC Radio WM. “When that’s happened, we’ll take it to cabinet and when cabinet approve it and Unite get approval from their members for it, then we’ve got a deal.

“The way the timeline looks, we are looking at going to cabinet in late September-early October with a proposal [that sides have agreed to].”

Speaking at a full council meeting this week however, Conservative group leader Councillor Robert Alden argued deals to resolve previous bins strike led to further instability for the authority years later.

“So far no details [about the current possible deal] have been shared or released to the public,” he said.

“Can the leader of the council commit to this council that any bin deal his cabinet agrees will not risk new equal pay or sex discrimination liabilities for this council and the taxpayers of our city?”

Councillor Harmer provided some further insight about the possible deal in response, saying: “I do share the frustrations that so many people have with the length of time it is taking to bring an end to the bins strike.

“There are risks with any solution to the bins strike and when it comes to cabinet, hopefully at the end of this month or beginning of next month, what will be presented to cabinet will be a series of options.

“Each one will need to be considered [for their] pros and cons, and cabinet will need to make a decision.

“All those options need to be assessed by both the council’s officers and also for example, by the district auditor to make sure […] that whatever solution we finally go for is sustainable and does not cause further ongoing issues for this council.

“We will obviously take close adherence to the advice offered by our Section 151 officer and also by the district auditor.”

Earlier this month, Councillor Alden told the cabinet members that it was important that any resolution to the bins strike “doesn’t saddle this city with more financial burdens”.

“This council cannot afford to go around the merry-go-round for a third time of settling a bins strike in a way that just leads to another bins strike a few years down the line,” he said at the time.

“I would urge whatever solution is found to the strike is one that actually finally draws under the line under this and is affordable for the city and taxpayers.”

Councillor Julien Pritchard, Green Party councillor and deputy leader, told the meeting that any bins strike deal would be “fair” and “above board”.

On the recent negotiations between the council and Unite, Councillor Harmer told the BBC: “Everybody involved in it is intensely frustrated with the time it’s taken to resolve this.

“We came into administration in June and in that first month we said to [council] officers go away, start negotiating with Unite.

“We agreed with Unite at that point we wouldn’t have a running commentary on [the negotiations] because both sides felt that calm and quietness would actually allow things to progress.”

He went on to say the negotiations were very complex and that “extra time” was needed to make sure a proper resolution was reached.

The dispute between the council and Unite was sparked over the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role.

The council’s previous Labour administration argued that a fair offer had been made to striking workers, who claimed they face a pay cut of £8,000.