BINMEN have penned a damning letter to Nicola Sturgeon about the working conditions faced by cleansing employees in Glasgow.
In it, they call on the Scottish Government to provide investment, education and enforcement to services relied on by Glaswegians after “seeing cleansing budgets squeezed”.
The letter – sent by the GMB on behalf of the workforce - notes how employees “can really see the effects austerity measures are having on people’s standards of living”.
But Glasgow City Council has said that the cleansing budget has risen by more than 20% in the last six years.
The letter reads: “Like many people who live in work in Glasgow, it’s been sad to see the decline in the services we all rely on.”
It goes on: “Road sweepers no longer sweep streets, and bin workers using a dilapidated fleet of RCV vehicles.
“Every year we just keep seeing cleansing budgets squeezed. None of which is the workers fault.
“This cannot be allowed to continue. Glasgow is a unique city in terms of the waste it produces and also how our bin crews service these areas.”
It notes the impact that the change from two weekly to three weekly collections has had on families across the city.
“Many families can hardly cope with this three-weekly cycle for our rubbish collection”, the letter reads.
“They already have to jump on the bin to ensure the lid can shut. People certainly could not do any more to recycle their waste, and that’s them using the food waste bin as well.
“It feels as though the burden for climate change is being passed on to the working class in Glasgow.”
By providing further investment, education and enforcement to the workforce, binmen hope that it will improve the city’s recycling rates.
“In order for this to work we need three key things to happen, investment, education and enforcement.
“Without these measures put in place first, we are putting unnecessary pressure on families like myself who are already struggling as it is”, the letter concludes.
Glasgow City Council, has, however, said that the union is “not paying attention” to improvements to cleansing in the city – including £23m worth of investment to the workforce.
A spokesman said: “It is plain the GMB is not paying attention to what is going on in Glasgow.
“So far they have missed the £7m investment in new hydrogen-powered bin lorries that will soon be in service in Glasgow, the £10m invested in household bin services, the 20 new mechanical street sweepers now in operation, the £6m spent on new street bins and the fact the cleansing budget has actually risen by over 20% in the last six years.
“But what is most concerning is that the GMB doesn’t even appear to be aware of the new Resources and Recycling Strategy as agreed by all parties represented at the council.
“The basic aim of the Resources and Recycling Strategy is to reduce the waste produced by the city while increasing the amount of materials that are reused and recycled.
“Implementing this policy will give us a chance of achieving the national target of 70% waste recycled by 2025 when Glasgow currently recycles less than 30% of its waste.
“But most crucially reducing waste will help the city tackle the 774,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions connected to Glasgow’s waste that is contributing to the increasingly evident climate emergency.
“In the face of these two massive challenges to say that now is not the time to try and improve the city’s recycling record shows the GMB position on waste management is fraudulent.
“Rather than showboating for social media likes, it would be useful if the GMB actually sat down for the constructive dialogue they say they want and discuss how to put into practice a democratically-agreed waste policy that is vital for the future of the city.”
A Scottish Government spokesman added: “We are very grateful to all key workers who have helped to maintain essential services across Scotland throughout the pandemic.
“It is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.
“Glasgow City Council will receive a total funding package of almost £1.5 billion to support local services, which includes an extra £29.8 million to support vital day to day services, equivalent to an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to 2020-21.”
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