Unite fined £265k over bin strike protests

Unite has been fined £265k after a judge found the union repeatedly breached an injunction during Birmingham's bin strike.

The fine is essentially a punishment payable to the government, because contempt of court is treated as an offence against the courts. The union must also make an interim payment of £170k towards Birmingham City Council's legal costs.

The injunction, granted last year, prevents the blocking of refuse collection vehicles at depots and on streets across the city.

The council applied for contempt of court proceedings in July, citing persistent breaches including vehicles being blockaded, union members stepping in front of moving heavy vehicles and roads being blocked.

Majid Mahmood, the council's cabinet member for environment and transport, said: "This judgement confirms that Unite has tried to prevent us from collecting our residents' bins and to fill the city up with rubbish.

"We always acknowledged that everyone has the right to protest and that Unite has the right to organise picketing in line with their statutory rights.

"However, people also have a right to work."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called the fine a "pathetic attempt to intimidate workers".

"Unite will not allow these workers to pay the price for the council's failings in their pay packets," she said.

"Rather than resolving the dispute, Birmingham city council's own figures have confirmed they have spent £33m of Birmingham residents' money trying to break the strike. It won't be broken - these workers are fighting for council workers everywhere."

Graham also said "every single penny will come out of Labour's affiliation fee", after the union last week said it would reduce the amount it pays to the UK's governing party because of its stance on the bin strike.

Workers have been on strike since January last year, with all-out action ongoing since March 2025.

The council said it needs to transform the service and has tabled multiple fair and reasonable offers, but the union said workers' pay will be cut by up to £8,000.

Both striking council workers and some agency workers employed by Job & Talent have recently voted to extend their industrial action mandate past May's local elections and into September.