A foul-smelling dispute continues as negotiations to end the Birmingham waste collection workers' strike failed again today. This means residents with increasing piles of garbage outside their homes still have no resolution to the enormous mess.
Sanitation workers began their strike on March 11, and Birmingham City Council declared a major incident on March 31, citing public health concerns. Workers are striking due to a long-running dispute over waste recycling roles and the elimination of the Waste Recycling Collection Officer (WRCO) position, which would leave approximately 150 members with substantially more work for reduced pay. The council, which denies this claim, met with union representatives.
The rat's question at today's full council meeting in Birmingham - asks when the rat population will decline and when streets will return to an acceptable state #LDReporter pic.twitter.com/6ULHr7HvWh
— Alexander Brock (@AlexanderJBrock) April 8, 2025
On Tuesday morning, the council leader told Sky News she was "very keen to get a resolution to the dispute," but another day has now passed without an agreement. Meanwhile, a Birmingham city councilor resigned from the Labour Party today over cuts and sanitation issues after 40 years of membership.
Sam Forsyth, a representative for the Quinton district, told Sky News, "I can't stomach the fact we're in the middle of a bin strike where this is rubbish rotting in our streets and there are rats running around. I've raised this [issue] for three years, and nobody has listened. Enough is enough." A Unite spokesperson told media outlets in the country that there had been "intensive talks but no resolution tonight."
While rats "the size of cats" live among garbage bags piled up in the streets, one resident wore a rodent costume to question council members about the crisis. "By what date does the council think it will have reduced the backlog, reduced the rat population and returned our streets to an acceptable state?" he asked. "Before I answer your question, you're lucky that Brummie the Cat is no longer in residence at the council house," a council member answered, providing comic relief to the difficult discussion.
