A mountain of rubbish has been piled up on the pavement outside a Scots recycling centre as bin strikes across the country continue. Shocking pictures taken outside Dawsholm Recycling Centre in Glasgow shows discarded household furniture including sofas and microwaves being left along the fence.
Piles of bin bags and cardboard boxes have covered the pavement with mattresses and washing machines completely blocking the gates of the dump. The pile continues to grow as members of the public arrived throughout the day on Monday to discard their unwanted goods.
Signs demanding better pay have been attached to the fence of the centre as GMB Scotland members stand at the official picket line. Similar scenes have occurred on the pavement of Easter Queenslie Road while the recycling centre is shut.
Formal strike action has now spread across 16 council areas with waste and recycling staff also joining in from August 26.
GMB Glasgow Convenor, Chris Mitchell, said: "It's day four of the cleansing strike in Glasgow and already there's mountains of rubbish being dumped lying outside Queenslie recycling complex plus bulk items too.
"It just goes to show you how important this job is but unfortunately it does not reflect workers' pay. The Scottish Government and COSLA must stop playing political football with workers.
"They deserve better and of course this should start right away with a payrise that reflects on the conditions they face with cleansing."
Mr Mitchell added: "If one person dumps, everyone is going to follow suit. In Dawsholm you can't even see the gate of the recycling centre because of all the rubbish.
"It just shows what happens if we aren't there. People are going to desperate measures to get rid of their waste. The public are now seeing how important this job is.
"I am hoping to resolve this fairly quickly. COSLA is still to meet today to discuss a new pay offer but we need to see what the offer is so we can determine what happens next."
It is thought a new offer is under negotiation today with discussions taking place.
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