'No apology from any of you - you have lied' - Birmingham council meeting disrupted by angry outbursts over ongoing bin strike

The local authority’s full council meeting on Tuesday afternoon, December 2, was dramatically brought to a halt following an angry outburst over the bins strike.

The industrial action has rumbled on since the start of the year and was triggered by a long-running dispute between the Labour-run council and Unite the union.

At today’s meeting, one man in support of Unite in the public gallery began shouting about how the dispute had ‘wasted’ millions of pounds.

“No apology from any of you,” he said.

“You have lied and lied – you have scaremongered about the equal pay liability.”

He was then escorted outside the public gallery by members of security before a woman threw mock bank notes calling on the council to “return to negotiations” into the council chamber.

After the meeting resumed, there was a second interruption from the gallery as a group began chanting for a “bailiff free Britain”.

They locked arms and continued their protest for several minutes while a person dressed as a shark in the gallery calmly watched on.

The meeting was ultimately adjourned for half an hour following the tumultuous scenes in the council house.

Council meetings have been disrupted numerous times this year amid bins strike tensions, including the prestigious ceremony which saw Coun Iqbal become Lord Mayor.

The following month, council leader John Cotton was answering a question about the industrial action from a resident when another man began angrily questioning the councillor from the public gallery.

“Would you take an £8,000 pay cut Cotton?” the man shouted. “Would you? Come on?

“That’s what you’re expecting hard working bin workers to take.”

The bins strike dispute was sparked by the loss of the Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) role, with striking workers raising concerns about pay.

The Labour-run council’s leadership has repeatedly insisted a “fair and reasonable” offer had been made and have disputed the £8,000 figure.

The local authority confirmed in the summer that it was ending talks with Unite to resolve the bins crisis dispute – but there have been recent calls for negotiations to resume.

Council leader John Cotton said there has been “extensive attempts at negotiation under the umbrella of ACAS” – the independent arbitration service.

But he has said that one issue has been the council’s equal pay “red lines” that it refuses to cross, adding that doing so would risk further financial woes.