Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
Glasgow equal pay talks collapse
25/09/2026 Equal pay negotiations between Glasgow CC and its Joint Trade Unions have broken down, with the council confirming it will now dismiss all non-teaching staff. |
200,000 council and school staff begin voting on pay strikes
09/07/2026 Around 200,000 council and school staff across England and Wales began voting today on whether to take strike action over pay, UNISON has announced. |
Stronger local government starts with fair pay
09/07/2026 UNISON's head of local government on why devolution means nothing without fair pay for council and school staff |
Teacher strikes could loom as formal ballots are confirmed
11/05/2026 A formal ballot for teachers’ industrial action is to be held by the National Education Union (NEU). |
'End in sight' for Birmingham strike
27/04/2026 After more than a year of industrial action, Birmingham CC's leader John Cotton has tabled an offer he believes will ‘end the strike once and for all'. |
Brum council secures waste depot injunction
23/02/2026 Birmingham City Council has secured a High Court injunction against ‘persons unknown’ aimed at preventing blockading at the authority’s waste depots. |
Unite accuses Birmingham CC leaders of misleading scrutiny committee
14/01/2026 Unite has accused Birmingham CC’s lead commissioner and managing director of misleading councillors during a meeting of a key scrutiny committee. |
Bromley traffic wardens take further strike action
07/01/2026 Outsourced traffic wardens belonging to the GMB trade union have begun further strike action in Bromley. |
Commissioners to remain at ‘fragile’ Birmingham City Council
02/12/2025 Improvement at Birmingham City Council is ‘fragile, has been slower than anticipated and several areas of significant risk remain’, according to the latest report from commissioners called in by the Government to run the local authority. |
Brum bin collections cancelled as agency staff strike
02/12/2025 Birmingham City Council was forced to suspend bin collections this week amid an escalation of industrial action to hit the service. |
Agency workers join escalating Birmingham bin strike
18/11/2025 Agency workers have now joined Birmingham City Council’s directly employed refuse collectors in the long-running bin strike. |
Union ballots Wrexham bin workers on strike action
21/07/2025 Refuse workers in Wrexham are being balloted on strike action, with their union Unite claiming changes in working patterns by the town’s council will see them lose half a day’s pay. |
Unions call for ‘better and fairer’ pay offer
04/07/2025 Trade unions representing council staff across the country have called on local government employers to improve on the 3.2% pay offer. |
Brum bin strikes could last 6 months longer
06/06/2025 Almost 400 Birmingham bin workers voted for continued strike action in a recent ballot. |
Birmingham council secures court order to stop bin lorry protests
25/05/2025 Birmingham City Council has been granted a court order to stop protests outside of its bin lorry depots as the latest move in the long-running pay dispute. |
Unite advises members to reject latest pay offer
28/04/2025 Public sector trade union Unite has advised its members to reject this year’s local government pay offer and threatened industrial action this summer. |
Mediator called to settle Brum bin strike dispute
24/04/2025 Unite say a deal could be ‘in touching distance’ after agreeing to engage in talks with Birmingham City Council under the auspices of arbitration service Acas. |
Brum pauses charges for rat infestations
22/04/2025 Birmingham City Council has temporarily waived charges for residents who require help with rat infestations during the bin strikes. |
Striking Brum bin workers reject pay offer
14/04/2025 Refuse collection workers in Birmingham have rejected the city council’s latest pay offer in long-running dispute. |
Military planners sent to Brum amid bin strikes
14/04/2025 Military planners have been called in to help tackle the backlog of rubbish in Birmingham that has built up during the ongoing strike. |
Angry reaction to Starmer stance on Brum bin strike
07/04/2025 A war of words has broken out between the Government and union bosses over the bin strike in Birmingham. |
Call for ministers to step in over Birmingham strikes
20/02/2025 Britain’s largest union has called on ministers to intervene amid ongoing industrial action by refuse workers in Birmingham. |
Birmingham strikes escalate
04/02/2025 Strikes by more than 350 Birmingham bin workers will ‘intensify’ over the next two months, trade union Unite has announced. |
350 Birmingham workers to strike
20/12/2024 Refuse workers at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council are set to strike in January in a dispute over pay. |
Waste staff ‘furious’ as Veolia accused of backing out of deal
13/12/2024 Trade union Unite has accused Veolia of backing out of a recognition deal for its refuse workers in Sheffield ‘at the 11th hour’. |
Council staff reject ‘insulting’ pay offer
13/12/2024 Outsourced Peterborough City Council employees are considering industrial action after rejecting a pay award. |
Unison starts balloting staff on strikes
03/09/2024 More than 360,000 council and school support staff across England and Wales will begin voting today on whether to take industrial action over pay. |
Refuse workers start ‘indefinite’ strike action
20/08/2024 Refuse workers in Sheffield have walked out in an ‘indefinite’ period of industrial action over union recognition. |
Staff stage fresh strike over pay
09/08/2024 Staff in social care teams across Lancashire have walked out today in their second bout of strike action over pay this year. |
