Digital Transformation, AI and Local Government: The Case for Workforce Upskilling
The new LocalGov and Multiverse report explores how workforce upskilling is driving smarter, more efficient, and inclusive local government transformation.
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. |
Bin workers in Brum back further strike action
03/09/2025 A vote has seen bin workers in Birmingham ‘overwhelmingly’ agree to extend strike action until spring next year, according to Unite. |
Wrexham bin strike called off after deal reached
28/08/2025 A planned bin strike in Wrexham has been suspended after last-minute talks between Unite and Wrexham County Borough Council. |
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. |
Rayner suspended from union over Brum bin dispute
11/07/2025 Unite members have voted to suspend deputy prime minister Angela Rayner from the union due to her role in the long-running Birmingham bin strike. |
Job loses loom as Birmingham bin dispute talks collapse
10/07/2025 Attempts to resolve the long-running waste service dispute between Birmingham City Council and Unite have collapsed with job loses the likely result. |
Unite calls for investigation into Brum commissioners
09/07/2025 Unite has called for an investigation into whether Birmingham’s Government-appointed commissioners have a financial interest in keeping the bin strikes going. |
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. |
Unite set to take Brum bin dispute to Liverpool
30/06/2025 Unite members are set to protest Birmingham City Council’s leader at this year’s LGA conference as part of the ongoing bin strikes, says the trade union. |
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. |
Breaking: Unite accuses commissioners of sabotaging Brum bin strike talks
21/05/2025 Government commissioners have been undermining efforts to resolve the Birmingham bin strike, the trade union Unite claims. |
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. |
Union announces strike ballot over pay
16/04/2025 Scottish council workers are to be balloted over strike action in response to what a union has described as a ‘pitiful' pay offer. |
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. |
Brum council declares ‘major incident’ amid bin strikes
01/04/2025 Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident to address the impact of the bin strikes in a move branded by Unite as ‘disgraceful strike breaking’. |
Aberdeen council accused of ‘fire and rehire’ threat
28/03/2025 Unite has accused Aberdeen City Council of threatening workers with ‘fire and rehire’ proposals as part of an industrial dispute, a claim the council denies. |
Brum council threatens redundancies to end bin strike
28/03/2025 Birmingham City Council will begin a consultation on compulsory redundancies in an effort to end the bin strike, a move Unite describes as ‘bully boy tactics’. |
Union criticises council's 'fire and rehire' plan
05/03/2025 The GMB trade union has criticised Tory-led Devon CC for adopting a rare ‘fire and rehire' strategy for more than 800 jobs. |
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. |
Unions warn council over potential strikes
14/01/2025 Trade unions have warned Belfast City Council that leisure centre staff could strike if a pay dispute with an outsourced management company is not resolved. |
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. |
COSLA: Council leaders offer to ‘supplement’ pay offer
08/11/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have offered to ‘supplement and enhance’ the latest pay offer to trade unions to prevent further strikes. |
CCTV operators in Hounslow call off pay strike
10/09/2024 Strikes by London borough of Hounslow CCTV operators employed by NSL have ended after a deal for the workers’ outstanding 2023 pay claim was reached. |
Birmingham slated over pay cut plans
16/08/2024 A union has slammed cash-strapped Birmingham City Council over plans to cut the salaries of refuse workers. |
Ealing set for ‘parking chaos’ during strikes
15/08/2024 Three weeks of ‘parking chaos’ await Ealing during planned strikes by 40 traffic wardens, Unite has warned. |
Bin strikes threaten ‘significant disruption’ during Edinburgh Fringe
31/07/2024 Edinburgh CC has urged COSLA, unions and the Scottish Government to resolve the pay dispute to ‘prevent significant disruption’ during Edinburgh Fringe. |
Council support staff declare strike over salary grades
26/07/2024 Around 200 support staff in Lancashire County Council’s social work team today began strike action in a dispute over salary grades and working arrangements. |
Scotland’s bin strikes will create ‘playground for pests’
04/07/2024 Residents in council areas that will be affected by the summer bin strikes in Scotland have been asked to take ‘reasonable steps’ to avoid attracting pests. |
Bin strikes could hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival, union says
02/07/2024 Waste and recycling workers in Scotland have voted to go on strike during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of an ongoing pay dispute. |
Strikes halted as bullying row drags into ninth month
02/07/2024 Refuse collection workers in South Tyneside have called off the first of three weeks of industrial action due to start today. |
School staff strike over new pay structure
27/06/2024 Teaching assistants at a school in East Yorkshire have walked out amid a dispute with the council over pay and conditions. |
Refuse workers’ strike escalates
26/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London Borough of Redbridge are to escalate their industrial dispute with a ban on overtime working, trade union Unite has announced. |
Council staff balloted for strike action
25/06/2024 Trade union Unison has announced that Kirklees Council staff at two customer service centres at risk of closure are being balloted for strike action. |
Union announces strike over working conditions
19/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London borough of Redbridge will strike next month over a ‘deterioration’ of working conditions. |
UNISON: Over 90% of council workers reject pay offer
17/06/2024 Thousands of council workers in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to reject a pay offer from local government employers. |
Council workers strike over pay cuts
11/06/2024 Nearly 150 council employees in Greenwich are striking this week over the local authority’s plans to reduce their pay. |
Greenwich council repairs staff declare strike
28/05/2024 Nearly 150 workers employed by Greenwich council will go on strike today after the local authority brought in plans to cut their wages. |
UNISON: Council employers ‘miles away’ from acceptable pay offer
13/05/2024 Local authority workers in Scotland are considering strike action because ‘employers are miles away from offering anything staff are likely to accept’. |
Brum council workers vote for strike over equal pay
23/04/2024 Council workers at 35 schools across Birmingham have voted in support of strike action over the ongoing equal pay claims issue. |
Unison warns of looming strike as it awaits pay offer
22/04/2024 Scotland’s largest local government union has warned that strike preparations could begin next week amid growing tensions over pay. |
Trade union law ‘nullifies’ right to strike, court rules
18/04/2024 UNISON has welcomed a landmark Supreme Court ruling that found UK trade union law ‘encourages and legitimises unfair and unreasonable conduct’ by employers. |
Brum workers vote for ‘major escalation’ of equal pay dispute
05/03/2024 Workers at Birmingham City Council have voted to strike in what the union GMB describes as a ‘major escalation’ in the campaign to end the equal pay crisis. |
Rayner floats three-year pay deal
14/02/2024 An incoming Labour Government could throw its weight behind a longer-term pay deal for the sector to avoid the embarrassment of strikes, well-placed sources have suggested. |
Fitness instructors flex muscles in pay dispute
25/01/2024 Council-employed yoga, aerobics and Pilates instructors in Colchester are voting on strike action after nearly a decade without a pay rise, says Unison. |
Brum workers consider strike over equal pay delays
12/12/2023 Thousands of workers at Birmingham City Council will today start a ballot for strike action in response to equal pay claim delays. |
Agreement ends long-running bin strike
11/12/2023 An agreement between Warrington Borough Council and the trade union Unite has put an end to refuse workers’ strikes. |
Local authority leaders criticise minimum service levels
11/12/2023 'Unfair’ and ‘undemocratic’ minimum service levels will lead to ‘more frequent and longer strikes’, according to mayors and council leaders from across UK. |
Council denied injunction to stop bin strikes
04/12/2023 Warrington Borough Council has lost a High Court bid to stop its refuse workers going out on strike. |
Bus firm 'must roll up sleeves' to resolve strike
09/11/2023 A North East transport boss has slammed a bus company for its response to a long-running industrial dispute, which he said is causing real harm to people across the region and damaging its bus network. |
New offer in pay dispute
03/11/2023 More money has been offered in the hope of averting strike action by Scottish Unison members. |
Council chiefs to receive 3.5% pay increase
02/11/2023 Local authority chief executives will receive a 3.5% salary increase backdated to the beginning of April after agreement was reached on this year’s pay award. |
School staff strike amid pay dispute
01/11/2023 Schools in parts of Scotland were closed on Wednesday as non-teaching staff went on strike in an ongoing dispute over local government pay. |
Haringey housing staff to strike
10/10/2023 Housing repair workers employed by Haringey Council will strike this winter in a dispute over pay. |
Coventry refuse workers to vote on industrial action
04/10/2023 The trade union Unite has notified Coventry City Council that it will ballot 55 refuse workers for strike action and action short of a strike. |
EXCLUSIVE: Unions delay next steps discussion
27/09/2023 Trade unions have agreed to reconvene to discuss their next steps on the ongoing pay dispute within days of GMB’s strike ballots closing, The MJ understands. |
Unite and council reach deal to end waste strike
27/09/2023 Waste service workers and street cleaners return to work today after negotiations between Tower Hamlets Council and the trade union Unite put an end to industrial action. |
Nottinghamshire waste staff to strike
15/09/2023 The GMB union has announced a week-long strike at waste recycling plants in Nottinghamshire. |
Union vows to oppose controversial crackdown
12/09/2023 Local government’s largest trade union has warned any attempt to impose a controversial crackdown will be met with strong opposition. |
School staff at 10 Scottish councils to strike
18/08/2023 Local authority employees in schools and early years provisions across Scotland will strike for two days next month, GMB Scotland has announced. |
Thousands of education workers vote to strike in Scotland
07/08/2023 Thousands of workers in education and early years services across 10 local authority areas in Scotland have voted to go on strike. |
Council staff at Newry, Mourne and Down commence industrial action
17/07/2023 Staff at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, one of Northern Ireland’s largest local authorities, commenced industrial action today (17 July). |
Harlow DC reaches pay deal with 300 housing staff
12/07/2023 Over 300 staff responsible for Harlow District Council’s housing stock have ended strike action after a pay deal was reached. |
Unite in summer strike warning
02/06/2023 Trade union Unite has warned summer strike action will hit key events after talks with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) collapsed. |
More than 360,000 frontline workers vote on pay strike
23/05/2023 More than a third of a million council and school support staff in England and Wales have started voting on a possible strike over pay. |
Tower Bridge could close due to pay strike
19/05/2023 Several major London tourist attractions could be forced to close after members of the GMB union voted to strike. |
Unions move closer to summer strike action
03/05/2023 Unite members working for councils have rejected a pay offer from local government employers and the union will now ballot on strike action. |
Council accused of ‘ripping workers off’
21/04/2023 Strikes by more than 300 low paid staff at Harlow council will continue into next month because the council is ‘ripping workers off’, union says. |
South Gloucestershire social workers announce pay strike
05/04/2023 South Gloucestershire Council said it was committed to engaging with Unison after the union announced a strike by social workers and occupational therapists. |
More than 300 Dundee council workers begin strike
04/04/2023 A strike by more than 300 construction workers at Dundee City Council is going ahead. |
Dundee workers to strike over outsourcing plan
21/03/2023 More than 300 Dundee City Council workers have voted to strike as they fight plans to outsource services. |
Social care regulator staff vote for strike action
07/03/2023 Staff at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have voted to take strike action over pay, their union has announced. |
Warning council staff could strike again within weeks
24/10/2022 Local government workers in Scotland could be back on strike within weeks, trade unions have warned. |
Council ‘disppointed’ by continuing strikes
05/10/2022 Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council has said it is ‘disappointed’ that strike action is going ahead while union members consider a new pay offer. |
Newham bin workers to restart strike
15/09/2022 Bin workers in Newham are set to go on strike for two weeks starting on Tuesday, Unite the Union has announced. |
'Fierce resistance' to threatened strike clampdown
06/09/2022 Any attempt by new Prime Minister Liz Truss to outlaw strikes will be met with ‘fierce resistance,’ trade union Unite has warned. |
Scottish council workers consider 7.5% pay offer
05/09/2022 Strikes that would have affected schools and waste services across a number of council areas in Scotland have been suspended as workers consider pay offer. |
Newham Council braces for refuse strike
25/08/2022 Refuse workers in the London Borough of Newham are set to go on strike this Saturday to demand a pay increase that will keep up with spiralling price rises. |
Scottish council workers reject 5% pay offer
24/08/2022 Waste service workers will today go on strike across 14 local authority areas in Scotland after Unite the union rejected a 5% pay offer. |
Scottish council workers get improved pay offer
15/08/2022 Council leaders in Scotland have made an improved pay offer in a bid to avoid strike action. |
Waste workers announce strike action across 15 Scottish councils
11/08/2022 Waste workers in 15 councils across Scotland will walk-out for a week this month in protest over the 'pitiful' 2% pay offer. |
Birmingham faces fresh equal pay claims and strikes
09/08/2022 The leader of Birmingham CC has urged trade unions to engage in talks over fresh equal pay disputes – rather than ballot staff over potential strike action. |
Council workers in Scotland vote for strike action
27/07/2022 Thousands of Scottish council workers have voted to strike in a dispute over the offered pay rise. |
Sandwell refuse workers secure 9% pay rise to avoid strike action
22/07/2022 Refuse workers in Sandwell MBC have called off a planned strike due to start next week after accepting a 9% pay increase and securing additional annual leave. |
Council and unions agree ‘strong pay offer’ for lowest paid staff
22/06/2022 Surrey CC's lowest paid staff are set to receive a pay boost after unions and the council finalised a pay offer that sees pay increases on a sliding scale. |
Coventry bin lorry drivers renew strike
08/06/2022 HGV drivers in Coventry have voted to renew their strike mandate and continue industrial action into the summer over a pay dispute with the city council. |
'Battle-ready’ union warns Scottish council leaders of summer strikes
10/05/2022 Unite the union yesterday told all new council leaders at Scottish local authorities to take ‘immediate action’ to improve pay or see strikes this summer. |
Rugby workers will be latest to strike
25/04/2022 Refuse, recycling and street cleansing workers at Rugby BC are among the council employees who will walk out on strike this week. |
Adur and Worthing bin strike ends with pay deal
21/04/2022 The long-running Adur and Worthing bin strike has ended after a new pay deal was reached with the local authority. |
Glasgow strikes suspended as equal pay deal reached
14/04/2022 Public sector unions yesterday suspended all equal pay strikes after a deal was struck with Glasgow City Council to settle the long-running dispute. |
Week-long strike over pay to hit local government sector
08/03/2022 Council workers are expected to strike for a week this month in the first coordinated industrial action to hit the sector in a decade. |
Coventry bin lorry driver strike to cost council £1.8m
09/02/2022 The dispute in Coventry over the pay of bin lorry drivers is likely to cost the city council around £1.8m if it continues to the end of March, the local authority has warned. |
National industrial action prospects over pay fade
07/02/2022 A nationally-coordinated wave of industrial action over this year’s pay claim looks increasingly unlikely as the outcome of trade union ballots emerged. |
Coventry council hires private contractor amid bin strikes
27/01/2022 Coventry City Council today announced that it is set to bring in a private contractor to help collect waste as strike action by bin lorry drivers continues. |
Plymouth council agrees pay uplift for HGV drivers
05/01/2022 The union Unite have welcomed a decision by Plymouth council to give HGV drivers a pay increase by regrading their jobs. |
Coventry bin lorry drivers strike proposal ‘impractical’
15/12/2021 Coventry City Council has rejected a union proposal that bin lorry drivers work for one hour and then go on strike for another hour. |
Coventry RCV drivers vote to strike
07/12/2021 Bin lorry drivers in Coventry have voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay and Christmas working arrangements. |
