Tag: cleansing workers

Glasgow faces COP26 bins and schools strike as pay talks stall

GMB Scotland members employed by Glasgow City Council have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over their pay, which would see strikes across the city’s cleansing service and schools during the International Climate Conference, COP 26.

Pay talks with COSLA, the umbrella body that represents each of Scotland’s local authorities, have stalled, with the employer refusing to budge from an £850 flat rate offer to all local government workers – far short of the £2,000 pay claim that was submitted by the joint trade unions GMB, Unison & Unite.

Following a ballot of cleansing workers and school support staff across the country, Glasgow is the largest of 5 councils in Scotland that could see strike action as soon as November 1st.

96.9% of returned ballots in Glasgow were in favour of strike action.

GMB Scotland represents close to 900 workers in Glasgow’s refuse & cleansing service and a further 600 across Glasgow schools providing cleaning, janitorial and catering services.

GMB Glasgow Cleansing Convenor Chris Mitchell said: “Over the past 18 months throughout this awful pandemic, essential services across Scotland have been held together by an army of low paid workers.

“We were called key workers, even Covid heroes, but while politicians were happy to applaud us on Thursday nights, they’ve never put their hands in their pockets to pay us properly.

“The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow during COP 26, and our politicians now have a choice – will they fairly reward the frontline workers who got the country through the pandemic, or will they risk embarrassing the city and the country on an international stage?

“The message that our members have sent with this ballot result is clear. We are taking a stand for what we deserve, and we believe the people will stand with us.”

Scotland’s rail network will also be hit by strikes during the UN climate summit in Glasgow, the RMT union confirmed yesterday.

Union advises cleansing workers to prioritise safety and refuse self-isolation exemptions

GMB Scotland has today advised thousands of local government cleansing workers to prioritise safety and exercise their ‘right to refuse’ requests from employers to continue working if they have been exposed to COVID-19.

It follows the Scottish Government’s announcement that double-vaccinated workers in key services, returning negative PCR tests and undertaking daily lateral flow tests, can avoid self-isolation if notified of exposure to COVID-19 by the test and trace app, and continue working if their employer’s requests meet conditions set by Ministers.

The union has over 2,300 members in cleansing and waste services across Scotland’s local government, including Glasgow, North and South Lanarkshire, and West Lothian councils, who have worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the decision was taken after consultation with their workplace representatives.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Drew Duffy said: “A major underlying factor in the so-called ‘pingdemic’ is the chronic understaffing in our frontline services after years of cuts, and our cleansing and waste is no different.

“But the Scottish Government’s new guidance has opened the door for employers across the country to heap more pressure on these key workers if they have been exposed to COVID-19. That’s not safe for workers, families, or communities.

“And again, some of the lowest paid are being asked to take the greatest risk in another example of how poorly they are valued by government. You cannot cut and coerce your way out of a crisis, if you want services to function then you must invest in them.

“That lesson needs to be learned, and it’s why we are advising our members to exercise their right to refuse and instead follow the general self-isolation rules if they are exposed to COVID-19.”