Something is rotten in the UK: Are bin workers across country planning a strike?

Bin strikes in Birmingham could “absolutely” spread across the United Kingdom, a union leader has warned, as a bitter pay row between refuse workers and the government drags on with no end in sight.

For months, mounting piles of rubbish have been left festering on the streets of the UK’s second-largest city. Bins are overflowing, “cat-sized” rats are running amok, and residents are having to dodge bulging black bags just to get rid of the waste.

Things have become so dire that the Army was recently called in to help manage the mess, as fears grow over a looming public health emergency.

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But now, the crisis may not stay confined to Birmingham. Onay Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, the union representing striking bin workers, says there’s a real “potential” for similar industrial action to break out in up to half a dozen other UK cities if local councils fail to change their approach.

So, why are bin workers walking out? What’s really happening in Birmingham? And which cities could be next? Here’s everything you need to know.

Why are bin workers on strike?

The crisis in Birmingham stems from a long-running dispute between the city council and its waste collectors, who are protesting against proposed pay cuts, a ban on overtime, and the scrapping of a key role within their teams — the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO).

According to Unite, around 150 staff could see their annual salaries slashed by as much as £8,000 (Rs 8.84 lakh) under the council’s restructuring plans.

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The council, however, defends its decision, claiming the WRCO role isn’t used in other local authorities and retaining it would create a “huge future equal pay liability.” Birmingham City Council is already under financial strain, having effectively declared bankruptcy in 2023, largely due to a massive equal pay bill.

In a statement issued on March 28, the council said, “All workers have been offered alternative employment at the same pay, driver training or voluntary redundancy.” The council insists these changes are necessary to make the service financially sustainable, but the union strongly disagrees.

More than 350 workers began a series of walkouts in January and decided to escalate into indefinite strike action on March 11. Unite says the dispute will not end unless the “hugely damaging” cuts to bin collectors’ wages are reversed.

“Birmingham council could easily resolve this dispute, but instead it seems hellbent on imposing its plan of demotions and pay cuts at all costs,” said Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham. “If that involves spending far more than it would cost to resolve the strike fairly, they don’t seem to care.”

Overflowing waste, public anger, and a failed deal

As rubbish piles up across Birmingham, people have been warning of a serious threat to public health, with piles of rotting waste attracting foxes, cockroaches, and rats.

Fayzah Iftikhr, a lifelong resident of the city, told Sky News that she’s never seen Birmingham in such a state.

“It’s been really horrible. They haven’t been collecting our bins, and they are overflowing. It is very smelly, we have seen rats. It is not good conditions to be living in, especially in 2025,” she said.

“I was born on this street, and I have never seen it like this. It is not good for anyone’s health. I know what they are striking for, but we are suffering, the people on our streets are suffering,” she added.

With tensions rising, the Labour-run city council declared a ‘major incident’ at the end of March, calling for immediate action to clear an estimated 17,000 tonnes of rubbish that had accumulated in just four weeks.

The situation became so severe in recent days that the Army had to step in — not with boots on the ground, but with strategic support. Military planners with operational expertise were deployed to help the council manage the crisis, a government spokesperson told the BBC.

But even with the growing pressure, there’s still no breakthrough in talks between Unite and the city council. A second round of negotiations ended in deadlock, with the union “overwhelmingly” rejecting the council’s latest pay offer.

While Birmingham City Council insisted its proposal was fair, Unite was quick to shoot it down. The union said the offer was “totally inadequate” and failed to address the looming pay cuts for around 200 drivers.

“They could see through what this so-called proposal meant, it simply failed to deal with all of the issues and it also nailed the lie,” said a Unite representative.

Graham backed the workers’ decision, saying the rejection came as “no surprise.”

“Workers simply cannot afford to take pay cuts of this magnitude to pay the price for bad decision after bad decision,” she said.

Can the strike soon spread to other cities?

The growing crisis in Birmingham may just be the beginning. Unite has warned that unless councils across the UK rethink their approach to public service pay, similar strikes could erupt in other cities.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, said there’s “potential” for wider industrial action if other local authorities follow Birmingham’s lead.

“If other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading. That’s why different political choices need to be made. I don’t think cutting the pay of public service workers is doing things more efficiently,” he said.

“If the pay of public service workers is attacked in other local authorities, then we shouldn’t be surprised when people take action,” Kasab added.

Graham echoed the warning, saying she’s ready to authorise “action in those other areas” if councils target low-paid workers in similar ways.

According to The Telegraph, cities like Peterborough and Sheffield could be among the first to face fresh disruption, with a strike already underway in Sheffield. The Times also reported that councils in Brighton, Barnet in north London are facing similar claims.

Meanwhile, negotiations between Unite and Birmingham City Council are expected to resume on Wednesday, as the all-out strike drags into its fifth week with no resolution in sight.

With input from agencies