POLICE were called to a Glasgow cleansing depot after binmen were subjected to threats while carrying out their work across the city.
It’s understood officers were summoned to the site on Monday after three separate incidents occurred.
Staff claimed members of the public threatened to assault them, with threats such as “pick that up you f****** b*******” and “you’re getting it” and “f****** lazy b*******, I’ll see you next time”.
It’s understood one of the incidents was sparked by an individual’s anger at the newly rolled out three-week bin collection.
Another was due to the apparent incorrect placement of a bin being put back in the wrong place by cleansing
staff.
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GMB Union, which has repeatedly called for the reduced collection service to be reversed, has called for further support to protect frontline workers from facing abuse while carrying out their
duties.
A spokesman said: “We’ve had reports that the workforce has been the subject of abuse and violence.
“At the start of the three-weekly collection, the council were told to make the public aware.
“They told GMB they would have enforcement officers in place to tackle fly-tipping, contaminated bins and education within communities.”
A source, we’ve chosen not to name, said workers chose not to give statements to police for fear of reprisal when covering the area
again.
However, Glasgow City Council confirmed it will be beginning its “process” in an attempt to resolve the complaints.
A spokesman for the council said: “Any abuse directed at our staff while they are in the course of their work is completely unacceptable.
“We have an established process for dealing with such incidents, which includes contacting the police for them to investigate
further.
“As part of this process, we always encourage our staff to provide statements to the police as this will help ensure an incident is dealt with appropriately.”
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Last year, it was revealed council staff have a one-in-three chance of suffering from violence at work.
Almost 9000 aggressive incidents had been reported to the local authority between January 1, 2019, and October 9 last year.
Speaking at the time Humza Yousaf MSP described the figures as “alarming”.
He encouraged employees to report the incidents to both council management and Police
Glasgow City Council insists it has a “zero-tolerance” approach to such incidents.
It also said it has a designated online portal to allow staff to report any such distressing incidents.
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