Overview

• Birmingham City Council has asked the court to hold Unite in contempt, citing persistent violations of a May injunction that limits picket numbers and locations at three depots.
• Strike Map’s second “Five Sites, One Day” rally, joined by Jeremy Corbyn and 26 unions, blocked bin truck exits at Atlas, Lifford Lane and Perry Barr from 6am on July 25.
• Unite denies unlawful blockades and insists its members are conducting peaceful picketing within designated assembly areas under the court order.
• West Midlands Police maintain a scaled-back presence at depots after a Court of Appeal ruling narrowed their powers to restrict protests under the Public Order Act.
• Since January, the council has spent nearly £8 million on agency crews and launched redundancy consultations as pay and role-removal talks with Unite remain deadlocked.