A TRADE union has hit out at the leader of Glasgow City Council after she sought to downplay incidents of rat attacks against bin collectors.
GMB, which represents the majority of the city’s cleansing staff, said Susan Aitken’s comments were “just wrong”.
Ms Aitken was being questioned this morning by a committee of MPs ahead of the city hosting COP26 next week.
READ MORE: Susan Aitken plays down fears of Glasgow's rats and rubbish ahead of Cop26
She was asked about reports that employees had to go to hospital after coming into contact with vermin while collecting bins.
Ms Aitken said there had been “one, possibly two” incidents, involving “minor contact with a rat” and the staff were taken to hospital as a “precaution”.
However the trade union representing cleansing staff urged the council leader to help to tackle the problem, and said her attempts to normalise the situation were unhelpful.
GMB Scotland Secretary Louise Gilmour said: “It’s just wrong to describe rat-related incidents as ‘minor contact’ - our members encounter them every day and some have been attacked. This shouldn’t be downplayed, it should be confronted.”
She added: “Glasgow’s waste crisis is understood, and the working conditions of our members are getting worse not better.
“The service needs serious investment and so does the city, and it’s been obvious for many years this will require support from central government.
“Our members have previously tabled proposals to Susan Aitken that would start tackling the waste crisis and support green job creation across the city.
“What we need is the council leader to positively engage with these proposals and to stand with the city’s workers, not against them.”
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