Overview
- Twenty-two Job & Talent agency workers voted to take industrial action and can join official picket lines from 1 December.
- Unite cites bullying, harassment and unsustainable workloads at waste depots, while Job & Talent says the ballot reflects only a small portion of its workforce and it will work with staff to address concerns.
- Unite reports that 275 directly employed refuse workers overwhelmingly backed extending industrial action, allowing strikes to run until mid-May 2026.
- Birmingham City Council says contingency plans are sustaining weekly collections, citing roughly 1,330 tonnes collected per day and over 100,000 tonnes in six months, and it rejects claims of a toxic workplace culture.
- The dispute stems from plans to remove or downgrade a senior bin-crew role, and Unite warns disruption could run through Christmas and beyond next May’s local elections without a deal.