Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton has set out a revived offer to striking bin workers, returning to the table the broad terms of a deal twice blocked by government-appointed commissioners and opening a route to ending more than 13 months of all-out industrial action.

The statement, issued on 27 April 2026, brings back into negotiation the "ballpark" agreement reached at the conciliation service Acas in May 2025. Detailed terms will be finalised in the coming days and put to a vote of Unite the Union members. Around 350 refuse workers walked out on 11 March 2025 after intermittent stoppages from January, in a dispute over the abolition of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer role and the regrading of bin lorry drivers from Grade 4 to Grade 3 under a council-led job evaluation.

At the peak of the dispute, more than 17,000 tonnes of waste sat on Birmingham streets and the council declared a major incident. Pest controllers in the city reported a 60 per cent rise in callouts as rat populations surged in the affected wards. Industrial action has continued every month since.

The May 2025 Acas package collapsed when council chief executive Joanne Roney advised that she could not secure approval from the commissioners installed by central government to oversee the authority's finances. According to Unite, a second revived offer was blocked at the eleventh hour earlier this year. The council leader's intervention follows several months of off-the-record talks aimed at resurrecting the original terms.

Those talks brought together Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, council leader John Cotton, and West Midlands mayor Richard Parker, facilitated by Lord Brendan Barber, the former TUC general secretary. Unite credited Parker and Barber with bringing a deal back within reach.

The outline terms mirror the May 2025 package. Workers will receive a minimum two-year transitional cushion against the impacts of the regrading, rather than the six months previously offered. Striking agency workers with at least 12 months on the contract will be offered a path to permanent employment. Disciplinary proceedings will be quashed and gross misconduct cases reviewed. The dispute period will count as authorised absence for pension purposes. Legal action will be discontinued on both sides.

Sharon Graham said the council leader's move "is a vindication of the bin workers' struggle for a decent deal". She accused the commissioners of "vindictive interference" and described the commissioner model as "a licence for a few unelected individuals to print money and play games". The union has warned that any walk-back from the council will trigger an escalation of the dispute.

The commissioners were appointed by central government following the council's section 114 notice, with a remit covering financial governance and service reform. Their interventions in the bin dispute have been cited by Unite throughout as the principal obstacle to settlement.

Detailed terms will now be drawn up between the council and Unite ahead of a member ballot. Until that ballot returns a result, refuse workers remain on strike and the city's waste collection service continues to run on a depleted operating model.