BINMEN DISPUTE CONTINUES OVER ‘SIDE WASTE’
Additional payment plea issued
COUNCIL bosses and binmen remain at loggerheads over refuse collection days after workers returned from strike action.
GMB Scotland members walked out on the first day of COP26, October 31, in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Now they have returned to duty, significant amount of ‘side waste’ – overflowing rubbish – is waiting to be collected.
But the Glasgow Times understands union members are asking for an additional payment to collect the waste.
Glasgow City Council, however, is not willing to pay it.
A GMB spokesperson said: “Discussions with the council remain ongoing about the safe handling of what’s defined as putrid side waste – but let’s be clear this is a problem that also existed before the strike. “
The GMB says cleansing staff are key workers and their contribution to the city is underpaid and undervalued.
The spokesperson added: “It comes back to the issue of how we properly value key workers that are being asked to undertake additional hazardous tasks and, in this case, tasks that other council’s cleansing workers ordinarily would not undertake.
“Again, the council should engage constructively with our reps on such matters.”
Waste quickly accumulated around the city during the walk out.
Collections have resumed but streets are still filthy with litter and rubbish bags sitting out on pavements.
On Monday when workers returned to shift, there were issues at Western Depot where staff claim they were “goaded” by a supervisor and told to go home.
The issue was later resolved but the overarching problem of cleaning up “putrid” side waste remains.
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said binmen were not being asked to do anything not already in the terms of their employment.
She said: “The role of our cleansing staff is to pick up litter and waste so we are not asking them to do anything outwith their contract of employment.
“We have written to GMB Scotland this morning on this specific subject to clarify that all health and safety assessment have been jointly reviewed and agreed and therefore to instruct their members and our employees, that they should pick up waste regardless if it is in a wheelie bin or side waste and accumulated over the days of industrial action.”