Birmingham residents have been urged to stop paying their Council Tax from 1st April 2026 in protest against the city’s prolonged refuse collection crisis.
Bishop Dr. Desmond Jaddoo MBE issued the call at the Enough-Is-Enough Clean-Birmingham Rally held outside Birmingham Council House at 12:30pm today.
The chief organiser of the demonstration appealed specifically to those who are able to withhold payments as a form of direct action against the local authority.
“Refuse collection is a core service that people pay for through their Council Tax, and Birmingham City Council is failing to deliver it,” Bishop Dr. Jaddoo said.
“This state of affairs is no longer acceptable. The people of Birmingham deserve far better than this.”
The protest comes as the bin workers’ dispute enters its second year with no resolution in sight.
Campaign organisers maintain that waste collection represents a fundamental service funded by local taxation, yet one the council is currently failing to provide.
“We pay our Council Tax and we expect a service. That service is not being delivered. Enough is enough,” Bishop Dr. Jaddoo stated.
The ongoing dispute has damaged Birmingham’s reputation both domestically and abroad, with the city increasingly characterised as dirty and plagued by vermin.
Campaigners question the council’s capacity to implement major reforms when basic services remain in disarray.
“How on earth can they deliver those successfully when the basics are all over the place?” Bishop Dr. Jaddoo asked, referring to planned changes to waste services.
The industrial action has already cost the Labour-run authority an estimated £14.6 million in direct expenses, with additional losses from suspended garden waste collections reaching £4.4 million.
The strike originated from a dispute over the elimination of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer position, with Unite members claiming they face salary reductions of £8,000 annually.
Birmingham City Council has contested this figure and maintains it presented a fair settlement before talks collapsed last summer.
The authority stated it had reached the maximum possible offer given concerns about equal pay implications and scrutiny from government-appointed commissioners overseeing the council’s financial recovery.
Unite has rejected this characterisation, with general secretary Sharon Graham accusing council officials of repeatedly refusing to engage in negotiations while “squandering millions of council taxpayers’ cash.”
The union claims a provisional agreement was reached during discussions but could not secure approval from the commissioners.
Cabinet member Councillor Majid Mahmood described Unite’s demands as “unjustifiable” and insisted the council’s doors remain open for constructive proposals.
The rally organisers have pointed to what they describe as a broader collapse of leadership at Birmingham City Council.
Their criticisms include the continued oversight by government commissioners, a chief executive they characterise as reluctant to negotiate, and a council leader they say has been absent throughout the extended crisis.
Bishop Dr. Jaddoo acknowledged the campaign’s willingness to help restore cleanliness standards in the city, but questioned how this could succeed when the authority refuses to deliver basic services or engage meaningfully with Unite.
“This is unacceptable,” he added.