Council meeting cut short as bin strike protests erupt

National World - LocalTV

Tensions over Birmingham’s long-running bin strike boiled over during a heated council meeting, with public heckles forcing the session to be adjourned. Protesters also gathered outside, demanding the council drop proposed changes to refuse worker roles.

Transcript

00:00It's been three months since bin workers walked out and the rubbish is only part of

00:09what's piling up. Tempers flared in the council chamber as the leader of Birmingham City Council

00:14John Cotton faced heckles over plans to axe the waste recycling and collection officer

00:19role. A man in the public gallery demanded to know if Cotton himself would take the

00:24kind of pay cut workers say they're being offered. Security stepped in but not before

00:30the man hurled a whistle into the chamber and called out abuse. The drama didn't stop there.

00:35Two more members of the public interrupted proceedings before the Lord Mayor was forced

00:40to adjourn the meeting. Union reps and supporters gathered with placards demanding the council

00:46drop what they call stealth pay cuts for essential workers. The council still reeling from financial

00:53collapse and under Whitehall supervision claims it's made a fair and reasonable offer stating

00:59workers were given options including redeployment at the same pay, driver training or voluntary

01:05redundancy. But striking staff don't buy it they say livelihoods are under threat and morale is in the

01:12bin. The authority argues that any concessions could reopen the door to equal pay liabilities,

01:18something it's desperate to avoid but that legal caution hasn't stopped a political firestorm from

01:23erupting. With no resolution in sight, growing unrest both inside and outside the chamber and key

01:30services on hold, the dispute has become about more than just bins, it's become a symbol of broken

01:36systems and the leadership struggling to keep control.

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