Scores of supporters joined striking bin workers on a ‘mega picket’ in Birmingham today – shutting down a depot in the city.
The group of around 200 let off flares and blew up a giant inflatable rat – a nod to the giant rats which are said to have invaded the country’s second city as rubbish piles high.
Refuse workers belonging to the Unite union have been striking since March 11 over the city council’s proposed changes to roles and resulting pay cuts.
On Friday, members of other unions travelled from across the country to show their support for the city’s striking bin workers.
An inflatable rat is seen as bin workers gather on the picket line outside a recycling centre in Birmingham
Union members gather for a ‘mega picket’ in support of Birmingham bin workers near a household recycling centre in Kings Norton, Birmingham, as the bin strikes in the area continue
Union members, who travelled on coaches from as far as Bristol and Leeds, arrived at the Lifford Lane depot in Kings Norton to stand in solidarity.
They shut down the depot and recycling centre, one of the three main Birmingham City Council depots, leading to delays in collections.
The ‘mega picket’ was organised by Strike Map, a group of trade union activists who created a digital map to show where industrial action is taking place.
Henry Fowler, from the group, said it was a ‘fantastic turnout’ with workers from a number of unions, including the train drivers’ union Aslef and the Fire Brigades Union, turning up.
Protestors gathered from 6am, chanting and releasing flares, to show their backing for the all-out bin strike, now entering its eighth week.
Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a message of solidarity.
Asked if they’re anticipating the bins strike continuing into summer, Unite regional officer Zoe Mayou said: ‘If that’s what we need to do unfortunately – that’s unfortunate for our members and residents.
‘It’s down to the council to come with a proper offer and be transparent.’
Birmingham’s striking bin workers also received backing from the National Education Union (NEU).
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede told protestors the strike by members of Unite was a fight against ‘a race to the bottom’ on working people’s wages.
Mr Kebede, who represents around half a million teachers and support staff, told the picket line: ‘We bring our solidarity to this picket because the Birmingham bin strike is a strike of national importance.
‘If a Labour council – a Labour council – can get away with cutting the wages of these workers, then a Labour government can get away with attacks on the rest of us.’
Claiming that the Labour Government was ‘lining up attacks’ on education and would be the first Labour government since the 1970s to do so, Mr Kebede said: ‘We are standing here with the bin men and bin workers today because it could be us tomorrow.
‘This solidarity… is showing what we can do when we unite across our sectors and across our industries.
‘Without the people here, not a single cog would turn. It wasn’t the councillors who were sat in city hall who were making the difference during the pandemic.’
The group of around 200 let off flares and blew up a giant inflatable rat at the rally – a nod to the giant rats which are said to have invaded the country’s second city as rubbish piles high.
To loud applause from protestors, Mr Kebede went on: ‘It was the refuse workers keeping the streets clean. It was the teachers who kept education going, it was the doctors and the nurses.
‘So let’s stand together as working people and say that we absolutely refuse to endure a race to the bottom.
‘Let’s push back against this austerity government and ensure that our society can flourish.’
Train drivers’ union Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, thanked trade unionists in the crowd for their their support during previous rail disputes and said he was proud to be with them.
Mr Whelan said: ‘It’s to our shame that we have to stand here today in a Labour-controlled authority talking about people’s wages being changed without agreement.’
Turning the effects of 14 years of austerity back on workers could not be right, Mr Whelan said, adding: ‘I can’t articulate this dispute as well as the people involved in it – because it’s their futures, it’s their livings, it’s their families.
‘But we do know from what we have seen in the past, if we don’t stand together, they will defeat us. If we don’t behave as a collective, they will hurt us.
‘If we don’t send the messages we need to see, they believe they can turn us over.
‘We will be with you today, we will come back tomorrow, we will come back another day until you win.’
Kate Taylor, of the Birmingham branch of the NEU and also a national executive member of the union, told the crowd: ‘This bin strike is for all of us – it’s for all trade unionists. That is why so may of us are here today showing solidarity and fighting with you.’
Representatives of the Fire Brigades Union and other groups also addressed the crowd, including Artin Giles of the Jeremy Corbyn-founded Peace and Justice Project.
Offering both Mr Corbyn’s and the project’s full solidarity, Mr Giles said: ‘I think we really are at a moment where people are realising that no matter if it’s a red rosette or a blue rosette, the rich get richer whilst the working class gets cuts to services that we all rely on.
‘And that’s the case whether we talk about schools, health clinics or refuse collection.’
Unite organiser Pete Randall told the picket that he believed ‘victory’ in the dispute was not too far away.
‘It’s been an absolute honour to stand here with our members,’ he said. ‘I remember the very first day rocking up at the top of Lifford Lane/Ebury Road.
‘I have got to know the members. I can see it in their eyes. I can see how it feels for them. And that’s what it’s all about – understanding from a striker’s perspective.
‘I praise every single worker that is out on the picket lines. This is what a union looks like.’
Refuse workers and supporters attend a mass picket and rally at a depot
Rubbish piling high in Birmingham following weeks of strikes by bin workers over pay
Speaking from the picket line, Derek Roberts, a bin lorry driver who has worked for the service for more than 30 years, said he was ‘ humbled and very grateful’ to see the amount of people who had decided to join forces with his fellow Unite members.
He told the BBC: ‘Knowing they’ve had to get up first thing in the morning and travel to support us has been fantastic.’
The council said it would try to collect bins missed as a result of the action over the weekend.
Resident Ste Gill expressed his anger online. He said: ‘Another week of us not getting our bins empty. Another week of fighting off the rats. Also another week of me trying to a get a slot at Lifford Lane.
‘To take my rubbish which I already pay for with the rising council tax. Getting ridiculous now. My patience is wearing thin.’
Members of the union have been on all-out strike for weeks over plans to cut the role of Waste Recycling and Collection Officers – leading to rubbish piling up on the streets.
Hopes of an agreement were dealt a blow when last month, around 200 bin wagon drivers were told their jobs were being downgraded as part of an equal pay-related review and evaluation exercise by Birmingham City Council.
Unite said that under the council’s plans, the pay rate of drivers will reduce from £40,000 to £32,000, a pay cut of £8,000.
The council – which effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 – has been blamed for mishandling an equal pay dispute.
It has so far paid out almost £1.1 billion after losing a landmark case in 2012 launched after it gave bonuses to refuse collectors and street cleaners but not to cleaners and caterers – roles typically held by women.
It still has to find more money to settle further claims but insists its debt is ‘unrelated to the need to modernise the waste service and to eliminate any future equal pay risk’.
The council says negotiations are continuing and its job evaluation process was ‘fair and transparent’.
