80 Days In: Birmingham City Council Heads to High Court Over Bin Strike Picketing Ban
29 May 2025, 12:17 | Updated: 29 May 2025, 12:36
Birmingham City Council is appearing at the High Court this afternoon to seek a permanent injunction banning striking bin workers from disrupting refuse lorry movements during the ongoing industrial action.
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The council has already obtained a temporary injunction but wants to make the legal restriction permanent as levels of waste on pavements begin to surge again.
Community anger has escalated amid mounting piles of uncollected rubbish, with public health concerns rising as summer temperatures bring rats, flies, and foul odours into residential areas.
'Secrecy and misdirection'
Activist Gerry Moynihan spoke to LBC standing next to mounds of festering rubbish, where he accused the council of failing both the residents and the city’s reputation.
Despite government funding allocated to help tackle the waste issue, Mr Moynihan says residents are seeing no improvement: “In certain areas of the city, they don’t appear to be dealing with it.
The strike, which Mr Moynihan claims has already cost the city over £10 million in operational and policing costs, stems from a dispute over pay and working conditions for refuse drivers who are potentially set to lose around £6,000 per year.
Gerry Moynihan was critical of council leadership, accusing them of hiding behind bureaucracy rather than taking decisive action: “If the leader of the council went in personally to negotiate with the unions, maybe the strike would be settled. Instead, we’re seeing secrecy and misdirection.”
'Rats, disease, illness'
When asked if Council Leader John Cotton was letting residents down by refusing to attend negotiations in person, Mr Moynihan was unequivocal: “If you asked every single resident of Birmingham suffering the fly-tipping and the rubbish around the city, they’d say yes, he’s letting the residents and the city down.”
“We’ve got rats that are multiplying beyond belief,” Mr Moynihan said.
“They spread disease. Children playing near this waste are at risk of contracting illnesses like Weil’s disease.”
Mr Moynihan told LBC responsibility lies both with Birmingham City Council and with the residents, but says the council has failed to enforce proper waste disposal regulations.
“There is no enforcement in this city,” he said.
“Residents know they can put out what they want and they won’t be prosecuted.”
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He urged the council to use the additional government resources more effectively and return to the negotiating table in earnest.
“None of this should be here, and none of it should be here for weeks and weeks,” he said.
While some in Parliament have visited Birmingham during the crisis, Gerry Moynihan is sceptical of any meaningful involvement from central government: “Parliament’s a long way from the stench of this rot in Birmingham, so why should they do anything?”
Still, he believes Parliament has a duty to ensure the city spends its allocated funding properly and cleans up the mess that is continuing to pile up on Birmingham’s streets.
“Our door remains open for further talks. However, to make progress Unite must accept reality.
"We will not be able to make progress until Unite accepts that the WRCO role cannot be brought back, and that the council cannot and will not entertain anything that would re-open an equal pay liability.
“That wouldn’t be fair for residents or workers and is a red line for Birmingham City Council. We are open to good faith negotiations on the basis of the fair and reasonable offer on the table.
“In the meantime, we are making good progress in clearing up the backlog of waste.”
