Wednesday September 30th 2026
GMB campaign at Polmadie
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Catherine Hunter
Glasgow’s carers and cleansing workers will be balloted on industrial action if plans to fire and rehire staff are not fully removed from the table, a trade union has warned.
GMB members from the care and cleansing department gathered outside the Polmadie depot this morning before pay negotiations with the city council resumed this afternoon.
On Friday, the local authority confirmed it had paused plans to fire and rehire up to 25,000 workers following talks with the Scottish Government and trade unions.
The city council had intended to issue dismissal letters to all non-teaching staff this week in a bid to push ahead with plans to introduce a new pay and grading system after negotiations collapsed when Unison withdrew from negotiations.
The GMB has told the council that it wants the fire and rehire scheme removed from the process completely and the £110 million backpay to remain on the table as part of the deal.
They also want the right to vote and ballot their members.
Frances Stojilkovic, GMB Scotland’s home care convenor, said: “We are here today to tell the council we want the fire and rehire off the table and we want a right to ballot our members.
“It blew up over the September weekend.
“We have had members on the phone crying, absolutely stressed because they don’t want to get sacked. A lot of people don’t know what fire and rehire is – they just don’t want to get sacked.
“We have been out all weekend speaking to members trying to support them.
“We were in meetings yesterday. Fire and rehire has been paused but we want this taken off the table and the £110 million to stay on the table.
“Our members want to be balloted. They have a democratic right to vote and this is why we are here today.
“If they don’t come out with something soon, we will be balloting but it will be for strike action but hopefully today has a good outcome and we can take that back to our members.
“A wee uplift is needed.”
Chris Mitchell, GMB cleansing convenor, said the “deal needs to be done right”. He also believed that pay protection, which sits at 12 months, should be extended to support those in detriment.
He said: “Our members are asking for the right to ballot. There are a couple of wee caveats we put out yesterday – remove fire and rehire and potentially extend the pay protection for people who are going to be in detriment.
“If we get this done and it goes out to membership then we can start looking at people who are in detriment with service reform and potential redundancy packages. If they extend the pay protection it gives us time to go round and negotiate.
“Let me make it clear. We have not left any members in detriment out of this. We are supporting everybody. These people who are standing behind us just now have been in detriment and under funded for years.
“They have taken away pay discrimination and people are now being evaluated for their jobs properly. An offer has been tabled and they have the right to whether to accept or reject that offer.
“We are urging all unions to get back around the table and give our members a vote. Then we can concentrate on people who are in detriment.
“Glasgow is in poverty. It is Scotland’s biggest city. It has potential and it is a lovely city with a lovely culture but totally underfunded.
“These individuals here are the ones that carry the can for that. The most vulnerable in society pick up waste every day and all of a sudden there has been an offer because they have been evaluated on their job now.
“We want the right to have that through a ballot.”
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “There are negotiations ongoing and it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment outside of those negotiations.”
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