Bin strike deal is waiting on the auditors, says council leader

A deal to end Birmingham's bin strike has been agreed but is sitting with the council's external auditors, who could still stop it going ahead, the leader of the council has said.

Councillor Roger Harmer, the Liberal Democrat who leads the coalition running the city, told Birmingham Live that the agreement was with Grant Thornton. "Depending on what they say it will then go to the cabinet along with other options we legally have to consider and we go from there, so we are waiting on them now," he said.

"They can tell us what not to do"

The auditors' job is to make sure the council provides best value for taxpayers and acts within the law. Councillor Harmer said they were not judging whether it was the right deal, only whether it was legal and fair value for residents.

"It will be the cabinet's decision to make, with their advice," he said. "They can't tell us what to do, but they can tell us what not to do."

He admitted the wait was frustrating. "It is very frustrating, it is indeed very frustrating, but given the history it is understandable," he said, referring to earlier deals to end disputes that led to equal pay claims costing the council millions.

Asked whether he was still committed to ending the strike, he said: "Absolutely. I am hopeful, eternally hopeful."

How the deal came about

Birmingham Live understands the agreement was struck with the union Unite in July, and would give each of the hundreds of workers affected a compensation payment running into thousands. It is said to be largely based on an outline agreement reached in April under the previous Labour leadership, after intervention from senior Labour figures including the regional mayor, Richard Parker, and Lord Barber, a former general secretary of the TUC.

Since July it has been through checks by council officers, lawyers, the government-appointed commissioners and the government. Neither the council nor the union has commented publicly, and the workers remain on strike with the union's support. There is said to be growing confidence that the deal will go to the cabinet and to Unite members by the end of the month.

A long dispute

Bin workers first walked out in January 2025 after learning that around 200 waste and recycling collection officer roles would be removed in a restructure. It became an all-out strike that March, as more jobs were threatened and lorry drivers were told their roles would be downgraded.

Rubbish piled up on the streets that summer, and the council declared a major incident so it could bring in outside contractors. An earlier deal in principle between Unite and the council's chief executive was vetoed by the commissioners.

Kerbside recycling has been one of the main casualties. The council is now trialling fortnightly recycling and weekly food waste collections in parts of the city as part of its wider changes to the service.