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Rats the size of cats are making their presence known in Birmingham, England, as the city’s garbage collectors remain on strike over a contentious pay dispute, foreign media reported. With garbage piling up on the streets, pest control services are overwhelmed as the city grapples with an unprecedented sanitation crisis.
Will Timms, a local pest controller, described the situation as dire. “The smell is absolutely unbelievable,” he told CNN. “You’ve got rotting food, you’ve got maggots on the floor crawling out of the bags.” Timms, whose phone has been ringing off the hook with complaints, has seen a dramatic increase in rat-related calls — up by 50% since the strike began, the report said.
According to the report, the ongoing strike, which started as a series of intermittent work stoppages in the winter, escalated into an indefinite action in early March. Garbage collectors, represented by the Unite union, are protesting the Birmingham City Council’s decision to eliminate certain roles within their workforce. The union has argued that these cuts reduce pay progression, with some workers reportedly facing annual salary reductions of up to £8,000 ($10,390).
Birmingham’s city council has disputed these claims, saying no workers will lose money and that the restructuring is part of a broader effort to modernize the city’s waste collection system. The council has said it is offering alternative roles and retraining opportunities to affected workers as part of its plan to ensure financial sustainability, the report suggests.
However, the strike has had a clear impact. According to the council, fewer than half of the usual garbage trucks are currently operational, leaving massive piles of trash — some several feet high — on streets throughout the city. In areas like Balsall Heath, the sight of decaying waste has created a breeding ground for pests.
“There’s rubbish everywhere, rats everywhere … (they’re) bigger than cats,” a passerby in Balsall Heath told CNN, adding, “This is Britain. This is 2025. What’s going on?”
The strikes have reportedly caused a severe public health risk, prompting the city council to declare a “major incident” earlier this week. This declaration allows officials to deploy additional waste collection resources in an effort to address the mounting waste and the associated dangers. However, protests and blockades have hindered efforts, further delaying waste collection in some parts of the city.
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