The High Court has fined Unite the Union £265,000, after it admitted breaching terms of an injunction banning protestors from blockading the council’s waste depots.
This is the largest fine issued by the courts in this type of application. In addition to the fine, Unite have also been ordered to pay £170,000 towards the council’s costs, with a further payment of £90,000 being assessed by the High Court. Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, welcomed the decision: “We are pleased the judge has accepted the evidence that members of Unite the Union repeatedly breached the injunction ordered by the court last year.
“We are working to keep the city safe and clean. This judgement confirms that Unite has tried to prevent us from collecting our residents' bins and to fill the city up with rubbish. The fine of £265,000 (plus £170,000 interim payment in relation to the council’s legal costs) was issued by the judge – will send a clear message about what is acceptable behaviour and what is not.”
Birmingham City Council instigated contempt proceedings against Unite last October, for breaching the injunction awarded in May 2025, which set out what protestors could and could not do on the picket lines. During the hearing, the court heard evidence from council employees on the behaviour experienced at the depots and the disruption such breaches caused at the depots and to the waste service. Mrs Justice Jefford noted in her judgment: “The evidence before the court also included a series of photographs and videos which showed the nature of the interference with wagons in streets around the depots.
“They do show graphically the disruption being caused and, putting it mildly, the difficult and unpleasant situation in which those trying to collect rubbish found themselves.” Mrs Justice Jefford stated that the court rejected Unite's suggestion that they had misunderstood the terms of the injunction, describing it as a "clever argument about the scope of the injunction" rather than a genuine belief. She found the breaches of the injunction “to have been deliberate and culpability to be high” adding that these “were repeated and repeated after they had been drawn to the defendant’s attention.”
Unite admitted the breaches and the trial focused on the level of sanctions to be applied for such contempt. Cllr Mahmood added: “Going to court was not something we wanted to do but were left with no option.
“We always acknowledged that everyone has the right to protest and that Unite has the right to organise picketing in line with their statutory rights. However, people also have a right to work. What is not acceptable is for pickets to obstruct vehicles and prevent people from doing so.
“This was confirmed when the interim injunction was issued and that injunction remains in place today. We will continue to use all legal means to protect our staff and residents and maintain essential services, in the face of determined attempts at disruption.” This is a contempt of court case, so the fine is payable to the Government, while legal costs are payable to Birmingham City Council.
