Glasgow bin strikes begin as world leaders arrive for COP26

Refuse workers and street cleaners are striking for one week

A strike by refuse staff and street cleaners in Glasgow has started, as world leaders arrive for the COP26 climate summit.

GMB Scotland said members in the city council's cleansing department would be striking for the next week.

The union accused the council of failing to give members "proper time and space" to consider an offer from local authority body Cosla.

Glasgow City Council said the union's decision was "very disappointing".

They said they would meet with GMB "at any time" to resolve the dispute.

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Cosla proposed a pay rise of 5.8% for the lowest paid staff as part of a £1,062 increase for staff earning below £25,000.

The deal involved £30m from the Scottish government and £18.5m from local government.

GMB Scotland, Unison and Unite all suspended industrial action on Friday, after the offer was tabled, saying they would consult members.

However, on Sunday GMB Scotland confirmed the strike in Glasgow was back on.

The union's Drew Duffy told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that the council was "constantly goading our members" and they had decided "enough was enough and the strike continues".

He explained: "The workforce are the lowest paid workers in Scotland. There are deep rooted problems within Glasgow City Council. We have been trying to meet with the council.

"It is a constant breakdown of industrial relations, there have been longstanding problems with low pay and discriminatory pay and our members have just had enough. The conditions they work in, the pay they receive is not good enough."

Refuse staff and street cleaners on a picket line outside the Dawsholm Recycling Centre in Glasgow on Monday morning

The move by the union came as Glasgow geared up to welcome about 120 world leaders to the city for crucial climate talks at COP26.

In a statement released on Monday, a Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: "The agreement struck at national level gave two weeks to consider the pay offer and so there is no reason for this strike to go ahead at this time. It is very disappointing the GMB has opted for this course of action.

"We have already agreed their request for time to meet with their members. And, while we remain available to meet with them at any time, we are unable to deliver their request for a pay increase.

"That is part of a national negotiation and a new deal was tabled by Cosla last week.

"It appeared that GMB, along with the other unions, had agreed to suspend the strike until national consultation was complete and it is very disappointing they have reneged on that agreement and have not given us the required 14 days' notice after they publicly announced the suspension on Friday."

The GMB, Unison and Unite had initially called for a £2,000 pay rise and previously rejected an £850-a-year increase for staff earning up to £25,000 from Cosla.

'Disrespected and undervalued'

Gail Macgregor, Cosla's resources spokeswoman, said they put their "new and improved" offer to trade unions last week.

"We were pleased to note that that it was accepted with the expectation that strike action be suspended whilst they presented the new offer to their membership for consideration," she added.

"GMB in particular made a public statement that they were suspending strike action for a period of two weeks as of Friday whilst the ballot of their members was conducted nationally across all 32 councils that this affects.

"We very much hope that this remains the case and that all members are given the opportunity to participate whilst essential services are maintained."

The GMB previously denied workers were using the global climate conference as a bargaining chip but said staff had been "put in a corner" by Cosla despite their efforts during the pandemic and were "fed up of being disrespected and undervalued by the government".

The Scottish government said it was not party to the pay negotiations, but said it had made a one-off offer of £30m in additional funding to help find a solution.

Scottish minister Michael Matheson, speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Monday, said: "The GMB locally have entered into a dispute now with GCC which I understand is not to do with the actual package itself but it's the process around being able to engage with their members and discuss that with them.

"I understand that discussions were taking place last night and the Scottish government would want to continue to encourage Cosla, GCC and the GMB to continue to discuss this issue and to try and find a quick resolution to what I believe is a process issue rather than an issue around the deal that was proposed."