Disgusting video shows dead rats floating in bins as workers slam conditions

STOMACH churning video footage shows huge dead rats floating in bins as refuse workers have slammed the horrific conditions they have to deal with.

The footage shows at least six huge rats floating amongst other rubbish inside a bin in Scotland.

It comes after a number of huge funding cuts by local councils, meaning bin collection schedules have left the city in a rubbish “catastrophe”, according to trade union members.

GMB Scotland Organiser David Hume, told the Daily Record “you can’t cut your way out of a crisis.”

At present Glasgow Council has continued with three-weekly collections, which Mr Hume believes isn’t enough.

He said: “This is another shameful example of Glasgow’s waste crisis and let’s be clear it’s a crisis that’s verging on a catastrophe.

“The council’s decision to press ahead with three weekly collections across the city is madness, and its attempts to mask these cuts under the banner of environmentalism is contemptible.

“You cannot cut your way out of a crisis, you must invest, and with the challenges on settling residual equal pay claims and replacing the discriminatory job evaluation system still outstanding, it’s increasingly clear the council cannot resolve this alone.

HORRIFIC CONDITIONS

Branch 40 convener Chris Mitchell said the dank, watery tomb highlighted the “waste crisis” being endured in the city.

He also said an offered pay increase of between 1 and 2% for workers from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) was not enough following a year and a half of the pandemic.

In the video Chris said: “It was a necessity you come into work. Communities couldn’t thrive without you. And due to the nature of your job, you are a statutory requirement.

“You stop diseases from spreading. Things like rats and other vermin.

“But again that doesn’t reflect on the recent pay rise from COSLA, it’s nothing but an insult.”

The public realm is in a terrible state of decay

Gary Smith, general secretary of GMB in Scotland

Gary Smith, newly-elected general secretary of the GMB in Scotland, has previously criticised Glasgow for being “filthy.”

He said: “Glasgow has suffered huge cuts to public spending, the streets are filthy, the infrastructure is crumbling, the public realm is in a terrible state of decay.

“Working-class communities around Glasgow have been absolutely abandoned by the [ SNP -run] council.”

A spokesman for the council said the issue followed pest control work carried out by the local housing association.

“Our staff have not flagged up a rat issue at these properties, which is what they are expected to do for their own safety,” they said.

“We empty the bins every four days at these properties and in our experience, the bin courts are kept in good order.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

“Glasgow City Council will receive a total funding package of almost £1.5 billion to support local services, which includes an extra £29.8 million to support vital day to day services, equivalent to an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to 2020-21.”

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