A LEAKED letter has revealed Glasgow City Council is seeking compen-sation from a major union after strike action shut down bin collections.

The letter to cleansing staff, which has been seen by the Glasgow Times, states the local authority is “pursuing legal redress” with GMB Scotland amid allegations the union “instructed” members to return to their depots and stage a sit-in on September 7 and 8.

It’s understood the letter was sent out last Wednesday, shortly after an agreement was reached for employees to return to work.

The letter read: “I have to advise you that withdrawal of labour and sit-ins are unlawful and constitute unofficial industrial action which we have raised previously with your trade union. I ­understand that an ‘instruction’ was issued by GMB for vehicles and employees to ­return to depots. I have to advise you that GMB has no authority to issue orders in relation to council resources, which includes yourself and our vehicles.”

It added: “As a result of these unlawful actions, the council is now pursuing legal redress with GMB.”

It comes after the local authority came under fire for a tweet addressing the ­industrial action as an ­“illegal strike”.

Council officers were forced to delete the message, which addressed why bins had been collected, as it was being “misrepresented” as the views of SNP councillors.

The Glasgow Times understands talks are continuing between the union and GCC after last week’s action, which also saw a demo by staff in front of the City Chambers in George Square.

As previously reported, the strike is in response to the council’s decision to return staff to their contractual hours after they were reduced to maintain social distancing during the covid-19 crisis.

GMB Scotland says it is the wrong time to make the move, insisting it would be impossible for workers to carry out their duties safely.

A spokesman for the union said: “We have consistently called for co-operation, safety and investment, and discussions with the service management remain ongoing.

“The council know the long-standing challenges facing the service after a decade of cuts and with Covid on the rise again, there needs to be a redoubling of efforts to keep our key workers

safe.”

In response to the letter, a spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “We’re continuing discussions with GMB Scotland following last week’s disruption.”