The Chris Mitchell Column: Respect the Binmen: Glasgow’s Workers Deserve Dignity

A Disgrace in 21st-Century Scotland: The Reality for Cleansing Staff

By Chris Mitchell, GMB Convenor

I want to highlight the conditions cleansing workers are facing in 21st-century Scotland.

It is an absolute disgrace. For the money they get, the reality is deplorable and disgusting.

We are talking about congealed waste underfoot, rat holes, and vermin everywhere. The places our members are forced to work in are disease-ridden.

Yet they are expected to turn up day after day, keeping this city going for wages that do not reflect the job.

Politicians talk about recycling in the 21st century, but I say: come and see it for yourself.

There is no recycling in those bins. Many have no lids. Waste is piled high. How would you like to wake up every morning, go to your work, and face these conditions?

The harsh truth in Glasgow is that refuse collection is one of the hardest jobs in any industry across Scotland.

It is vile, it is stinking, and it is relentless.

And yet I am proud of our members, who are still out there every day, trying to clean up this city while under enormous pressure and with too few staff.

This fight is about respect and dignity.

Our members deserve both. They deserve to be recognised for the work they do — not ignored, undervalued, and left to face impossible conditions.

Join the fight. Save Glasgow. And most of all, respect the binmen.

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