How did Scotland find itself in an autumn of such discontent? We’ve the prospect of rail workers going on strike during COP26; with the Transport Minister admitting he didn’t even know why.

How can that be when ScotRail is being taken into public ownership next year? Surely the Scottish Government has an obligation to intervene and see if it can help resolve this?

The apex for industrial discontent is Glasgow. That said, it would be wrong to underestimate the unrest among many poorly paid workers across Scotland. Low paid public workers have had a rum deal in Glasgow – this has been the case for years. But gone is the clapping and clanking of tin pots for essential front-line workers.

In my opinion, those who emptied our bins, swept our streets, fed our school kids and cleaned our schools have been a life-line during Covid-19. Why are they now being treated with such contempt instead of the heroes that they are?

I spoke with Chris Mitchell, Glasgow Convenor at the GMB trade union to find out why we’ve ended up with workers contemplating strike action: “Technology doesn’t sweep the streets or empty our bins. Any extra money hasn’t gone into cleansing equipment or facilities and isn’t being spent on workers.

“We’ve an upside-down Christmas tree structure where the people who empty your bins are at the bottom of that tree.

“Take-home pay is low and there’s been a problem over the last 14 months with how COSLA has dealt with our concerns”.

I asked Chris for his thoughts on those who say workers should be embarrassed for Glasgow by going on strike during COP26? “I’ve been asked aren’t you holding the city hostage during COP26 – won’t the public go against you? No, we’ve thanked the public for their continued support.

“We’ve been pushed into this corner after trying to avoid it for 14 months. I’m embarrassed for the lack of respect in the way frontline cleansing workers have been treated. This isn’t about COP26. Union delegates will meet today to decide on the way forward and if the strike goes ahead, we’re required to give two weeks-notice which takes us into COP26. It’s unfortunate but it can easily be avoided if workers are treated fairly.”

Cleansing staff want better pay, conditions, facilities and equipment. That sounds reasonable to me and I asked Chris why his members weren’t included in this year’s bonus for public workers?

“The GMB was the first to campaign for the £500 bonus for essential workers. Our Glasgow branch started campaigning for this in April last year with demonstrations outside the city chambers and Holyrood. I was delighted when NHS and care workers received the £500 bonus, but cleansing workers were left out. Many who got the bonus had been working from home and we were out on the streets with more rubbish being generated during lockdown as so many people had to work from home. Folk couldn’t eat-out so there were more takeaways and deliveries.”

For Chris Mitchell cleansing staff have been forgotten about for too long: “We’re working class people who’ve become second class citizens in our own city.

“Some of my members have to rely on foodbanks to get by. It’s appalling that take-home pay is so low. There’s no investment in equipment. We’ve one hydrogen vehicle that gets promoted around George Square while the rest of the fleet are rust buckets.

“We had an incident where the crusher at the back of a bin lorry went into the cab because of rust. Other depots across Scotland are much better – with new vehicles every two years.”

Sadly, some politicians – on salaries that most workers in Scotland could only dream of – have been critical of cleansing staff threatening strike action next month. Those who think local communities will turn against workers who have no other option but to strike might find they’ve misjudged the public mood according to Chris: “I believe the public are on our side and we have so much goodwill. I’ve never seen so much support from people. Cards of support have been sent to our depots. We’ve had lots of cards thanking us in people’s windows at home.

“With more people working from home, I think more households have seen the importance and value of what staff do every day.”

All of this could be avoided if we began to treat our essential workers with more respect and common decency. As Chris says, “strike action can be avoided if we’re offered something substantial. The £500 bonus that cleansing workers never got could be put into the ongoing pay deal.”

It’s not a big ask, so why aren’t we doing it?