Birmingham backs bin workers more than 100 days into all-out strike action, finds LBC poll

20 June 2025, 07:03

More than 100 days into all-out action in the long-running row over pay cuts, LBC has asked more than 100 Brummies who they hold responsible.

Of those polled, 45.7% place the blame squarely on Birmingham City Council for the prolonged industrial action.

Just 4.8% of respondents blamed the striking bin workers and their union, Unite, while 44.8% pointed fingers at both sides and 4.7% said they don’t know.

A recent nationwide YouGov poll, asking the exact same question, found nearly three times as many people across the UK blamed the bin workers exclusively as in our Birmingham poll.

Nationally, more people also assigned equal blame to both the council and the union, with fewer seeing the council as solely responsible.

Striking bin worker Steeven Biset told LBC the figures echoed what many of the striking staff have felt for weeks.

He said: “We’re not the villains here. People in this city know that we’ve been pushed into this fight, and they’ve seen what’s really going on.”

Read more: Birmingham bin strikes could last until Christmas as workers vote to continue action over pay and jobs

Read more: 80 Days In: Birmingham City Council Heads to High Court Over Bin Strike Picketing Ban

The strike, which has now entered its fifth month, has seen bins go uncollected across large parts of the city at times and huge mounds of waste and rubbish build up in some areas.

But many residents appear to sympathise with the workers' cause, attributing the deadlock to ongoing issues within the city council.

Unite declined to comment on LBC's survey.

Birmingham City Council, which declined an interview with council leader John Cotton, said in a statement: “The council remains committed to resolving this dispute.

"We have made a fair and reasonable offer that we have asked Unite to put to their members and we are awaiting their response.”

As negotiations continue behind closed doors, there’s still little sign of a resolution.

But if local polling is anything to go by, support for the striking workers on Birmingham’s streets remains resilient.