The Unequal Reality Behind the Impact of the Birmingham Bin Strikes

Image source - John Cameron

This article was originally published on Apr 29, 2025.

‍

At the time of writing the all-out ‘bin strike’ in Birmingham is on its 6th week. This, of course, follows a previous nine weeks of intermittent strike action in response to the council’s removal of Waste Recycling and Collection Officers and disputes over pay. So far, there have been a series of unsuccessful talks with Unite (the union leading the strike) to bring an end to the industrial action.

‍

This article, however, focuses on the responses to the ‘major incident’, rather than the causes and logistics of the strike itself. There is an apparent disparity between responses in wealthier areas affected compared to densely populated areas. For example, the streets of Harborne (one of Birmingham’s richest neighbourhoods) are clear of the widely described piles of rubbish; in fact, looking completely unaffected by the strike. This comes in stark contrast to the likes of Small Heath, or student area Selly Oak where streets see dozens of bin bags in growing heaps.

‍

Whilst it is clearly unfair that remaining waste removal efforts have been concentrated only on wealthier areas, it becomes even more unreasonable when you consider that residents of these areas, on average, are more likely to have the means to facilitate their own waste removal. Taking Selly Oak as an example, students are less likely to have cars with them to drive to tips, or the disposable income to arrange for skips. Furthermore, less wealthy areas tend to have higher population density thus more residents per house: surely these areas should instead be prioritised?

‍

Additionally, when looking beyond Birmingham itself, the difference between how the strike has been nationally approached compared to previous strikes is evident. In Birmingham, strikes were ongoing for over a month before military planners were asked to intervene. This is vastly different to the 2022 border control strikes where over 600 armed forces personnel swiftly covered for workers.

‍

The response by politicians, or lack thereof, is also troubling. Kier Starmer waited until 20 days into the strike to condemn it in the House of Commons. While his deputy, Angela Rayner, did visit Birmingham itself and urge for an end to the action, this had little impact. Politicians appear to have now dismissed the strike, leaving locals to take action against the waste build-up themselves. This leads us to question whether the same dismissal would have occurred had the strikes been in the capital instead. Without the momentum of politicians in maintaining national attention on the ongoing strikes, who knows how long this inequality will continue.