Overview
- Unite says 18 agency workers contracted through Job & Talent have voted to stand on official picket lines from 1 December, calling the step unprecedented.
- Birmingham City Council says contingency operations will maintain at least one household collection per week and reports collecting about 1,330 tonnes daily with a 22% rise in tonnage per employee and a 52% improvement in missed collections.
- Recycling and green waste collections remain suspended after months of disruption that the council estimates have cost at least £14 million.
- Unite members have renewed their strike mandate to May 2026 as the union presses for concessions on pay and grading.
- A video showing a Job & Talent manager referencing permanent jobs for those who cross picket lines prompted calls for an independent probe; the council’s internal investigation found no blacklisting, a conclusion the union disputes while the agency says the clip was taken out of context.