Agency staff brought in as cover during the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham will join the picket line for the first time over claims of bullying and harassment.
Hundreds of refuse workers have taken part in an all-out strike in the city since March in a dispute over pay and jobs, prompting the council to declare a “major incident”.
The strike attracted national and global attention, with images of streets lined with piles of black bags, overflowing wheelie bins and long queues outside waste collection points.
Unite, the trade union representing the striking workers, said in its latest ballot that 99.5% of workers voted in favour of further strike action on a 75% turnout of 275 workers. This could see strikes last until mid-May 2026, the union said.
A growing number of agency staff employed by Job and Talent, a workforce platform, have criticised what they say are unsustainable workloads and a toxic workplace culture, the union added. It said that 22 agency staff voted in favour of joining the strike from 1 December.
The council said it was “disappointed” that the dispute has not been resolved with the unions, adding that “a small number” of agency staff are in a separate dispute with Job and Talent.
Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, described the latest development as a “real escalation in the dispute” caused by the “terrible way they have been treated by Job and Talent and Birmingham council”.
She said: “Birmingham council is spending a fortune it doesn’t have on a dispute that could easily be resolved by agreeing a fair deal for workers.”
Unite’s national lead officer, Onay Kasab, added the union remains committed to returning to “meaningful negotiations”.
“Residents of Birmingham will be rightly concerned to see that the misery of bin strikes can continue through Christmas, New Year and beyond May’s local elections but the council is solely responsible for the ongoing dispute,” Kasab said.
The dispute between refuse workers and the council began over the removal of a senior role on each bin crew. The union insists the role is safety critical, but the council argued it is not industry standard.
A spokesperson for Birmingham city council said: “Unite has rejected all our offers.” They said the council was continuing to “make regular waste collections and our contingency plan is working”.
“We have been collecting an average of approximately 1,330 tonnes of kerbside waste every day, more than we did prior to industrial action, and over the last six months we have collected over 100,000 tonnes of kerbside waste,” the spokesperson said. “The city council has contingency plans and will continue to look to maintain residents with a minimum of one collection a week.”
Job and Talent said it would continue to collaborate closely with workers to address their concerns, adding that the result “reflects only a small portion of our overall workforce”.
It said: “As addressed previously, Job and Talent remains firmly committed to operating with transparency, integrity and full compliance with employment laws. We prioritise the rights, welfare and safety of our workers and maintain regular communication to ensure they feel supported.”
The agency said it takes “any allegation concerning worker welfare and safety extremely seriously” and “does not tolerate intimidation or threats against workers for exercising their rights, including participation in industrial action”.
