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Bin strikes back on as world leaders arrive for COP26 - BBC News

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A strike by refuse staff and street cleaners in Glasgow is set to go ahead as world leaders arrive for the COP26 climate summit.

GMB Scotland said members in the city council's cleansing department would strike for a week from 00:01 on Monday.

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.

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 secretary Louise Gilmour confirmed the strike was back on.

She said: "The council has failed to give our members the proper time and space to consider the 11th hour offer from Cosla, and the fact the council moved to block strike action in the Court of Session using anti-trade union legislation, means there is too much bad faith among members towards the employer.

"Therefore, our members in cleansing have informed us that they will still proceed with the planned strike action from 00:01 Monday 1 November."

She said they had requested a meeting with the council and would work "until one-minute to midnight tonight to try and fix this".

'Local dispute'

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.

Glasgow City Council had previously urged the workers to think again about causing disruption during a "busy and difficult time" for the city.

In its latest statement, a spokesman 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, which now seems to be about allocating time for meetings rather than a pay agreement.

"We will meet with the GMB at any time to try and resolve what now appears to be a local dispute."

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.

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Gail Macgregor, Cosla's resources spokesperson, 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 it made a one-off offer of £30m in additional funding to help find a solution.

"Public sector workers - including local government staff - continue to be integral to tackling the pandemic in Scotland," a spokesman said.

"The Scottish government is in no doubt about the crucial role that local government staff play and we urge all parties in Glasgow to find a resolution."

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