A sticker supporting the strikes on a bin as agency refuse workers collect rubbish in the Saltley area of Birmingham, January 6, 2026BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL faced a residents’ revolt in court today after a judge refused to immediately ban bin strike supporters from solidarity action.
The Labour-run local authority sought an injunction against “persons unknown” — a catch-all to include any and all protesters — after a series of disruptive demonstrations at the gates of its four bin depots at Birmingham High Court.
It comes after a series of “megapickets” organised by StrikeMap, backed by the Fire Brigades Union and rail union Aslef, twice shut down all collections.
Judge Mr Justice Pepperall announced he will reserve his written decision to a later date after residents stood up against the council in court.
They slammed the authority for seeking to quash protest instead of settling the dispute with Unite, now into its 14th month of strikes.
Retired teacher Stuart Richardson, the only person present in court who claimed to be one of the “persons unknown,” vowed to protest against this “utterly draconian police state measure” that the council is applying for.
He said that all of the several protests he had attended had been peaceful and cited a long tradition of protest and deliberate direct action that must be retained.
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