SCOTLAND faces a “rat epidemic” if strikes among council waste and recycling works are not avoided, a union chief has warned.
GMB and Unite rejected a pay offer from Cosla today, warning of another “stinking Scottish summer” after waste workers in most of the country’s 32 councils backed action.
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It comes two years after overflowing bins and piles of rubbish blighted the streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow after cleansing staff walked out.
Last night, GMB convenor in Glasgow Chris Mitchell warned that crippling local authority cuts, staff shortages and industrial action will exacerbate rubbish and vermin problems across our biggest cities.
He said: “The city is already under pressure, we’re facing a waste crisis and the rat epidemic.
“And our members are at the forefront of that trying to keep the city clean.
“There’s a number of businesses in Edinburgh that are extremely concerned leading into the Fringe and quite rightly so.
“That’s where they make their money.
We deserve better. Councils must be on the brink now because I’ve not seen anything like this in my life, it’s really bad
Chris Mitchell
“Thousands of people descend on the Fringe and it obviously had a damaging effect last time. I sympathise with the businesses.
“It’s not nice, we don’t want to take strike action.”
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During the last wave of full-scale bin strikes in 2022, Public Health Scotland said people could be at risk from the build up of food, animal and human waste such as nappies.
Mr Mitchell added: “We deserve better. Councils must be on the brink now because I’ve not seen anything like this in my life, it’s really bad.”
“We’re not dealing with the waste and rat problem properly.
“Glasgow is a great city with great culture and fantastic people, but you can see the decline.
“The city needs a complete reset and a deep clean.
“There’s rubbish piling up and there’s rats everywhere. The place is a mess.
We’re not dealing with the waste and rat problem properly… Cuts have consequences and you can’t cut your way out of a crisis
Chris Mitchell
“Cuts have consequences and you can’t cut your way out of a crisis.”
Meanwhile Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “If bin strikes go ahead again, across even more of Scotland this time, we will once again see appalling messes in the heart of our towns and cities at the peak of the tourism season.
“This would cause significant damage to hospitality, retail, and tourism firms.
“This wasn’t merely embarrassing, especially during the Edinburgh Festival, it posed a real public health risk.”
DISEASE SPREAD WARNING
by Oliver Norton
A TOP scientist has warned that the bin strikes could lead to rats spreading serious infections across Scotland.
Hugh Pennington said the build-up of rubbish will create ideal conditions for vermin.
The emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen fears disease spreading in coming weeks.
He said: “Piles of stuff in the streets is heaven for the rats.
“They can spread things like leptospirosis, a rat disease, but you can catch it through contaminated water.”
He also warned that rubbish scattered in streets would increase the likelihood of food poisoning, particularly in cities.
He added: “Another consequence could be things like salmonella.
“It depends on how good the restaurateurs handle it, and on how many rats are about.”
It comes as First Minister John Swinney warned the Scottish Government “simply cannot conjure up money where it doesn’t exist”.
He said it has to “live in the reality of the resources we’ve got available to us”.
Asked about the prospect of strikes, he said: “Nobody wants to see strike action taking its course. I certainly don’t want to see that.
“And I would encourage both local authorities, and trade unions, to come together to resolve these issues and to avoid industrial action by resolving the pay claim.”
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When asked if more money would be made available to avert a walk-out, he said there was “huge pressure on the public finances”.
He said: “I recognise that to be a challenge to other public bodies as well, which is why I made such a call during the election campaign for the immediate end to austerity, and to the injection of resources into our public finances and public services.”
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