The second largest city in England has declared bankruptcy – Kommersant

Birmingham City Council announced on Tuesday, September 5, to file for bankruptcy. From this day on, the city stops all payments and expenses, with the exception of social security obligations.

Birmingham is the second largest city in England with a population of over 1 million and the City Council is the largest local government in all of Europe.

The main reason for the bankruptcy was the legal costs that the city incurred during the consideration of the suit of trade unions, who accused the authorities of the fact that women, engaged in predominantly female professions, were still paid less than men in the city. Among such professions are mentioned, for example, nurses and teaching assistants.

The city paid compensation for ten years. However, the bills are growing by £5-14 million per month, and the total amount of unpaid compensation accumulated over the years is estimated by the city authorities at £650-760 million. The city simply does not have such money, the authorities say, and the budget deficit in this financial already valued at £8 million.

Kirill Sarkhanyants