A union boss leading the Glasgow bin strike has demanded the city council must invest in cleansing services if they care about the environment.
Climate activists and delegates joined striking workers at a depot in Kelvinhaugh Street - less than a mile from where COP26 is being held - in a show of solidarity.
Chris Mitchell, GMB convenor for refuse, welcomed their support and said that making sure services were funded properly was an environmental issue.
“It is an environmental issue, cleansing, we deal in recycling obviously and food waste,” he said.
“It’s just unfortunate that cuts over the last 10 years, probably more so over the last four years, have been absolutely horrendous.
“If you care about the environment you have got to invest in services, but unfortunately Glasgow are just making horrendous efficiency savings as they call them, but we call them nothing more than cuts.”
The climate activists and international trade unionists stood shoulder to shoulder with them on the picket line in support of the workers’ calls for value and investment so they can tackle Glasgow’s waste crisis and deliver cleaner, greener communities.
Mitchell claimed it was taking “months, if not years” to replace workers and said the situation in the city was becoming an “environmental catastrophe”.
Sara Shaw, climate justice and energy programme co-coordinator for Friends of the Earth International, said: “We are proud to stand alongside workers fighting for fair pay and decent working conditions.
“Refuse workers in Glasgow are demonstrating the power we must build everywhere to tackle the climate crisis at its roots.”
And TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Climate justice and social justice go hand in hand.
“While Glasgow hosts the climate summit, the key workers who keep Glasgow clean are not getting the fair pay and conditions they deserve.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said at around £100 million spent each year, environmental protection is the city’s biggest budget after education and social care.
“Waste collection and disposal account for the vast majority of those costs – and we’re spending £14 million more than we were five years ago. We’re also currently investing in more staff, new bins and a more modern, cleaner fleet,” the spokesman said.
“Meanwhile, the GMB is demanding the city rolls back efforts to prioritise recycling and waste reduction.”
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