Council waste workers across Scotland have announced they are going on strike for more than a week – which will once again impact Edinburgh’s summer festival season.
Unison, Unite and GMB members are taking industrial action between 5am on Wednesday 14 August to 4.59am on Thursday 22 August after rejecting a pay deal from council body COSLA.
COSLA said it was “disappointed” in the announcement but hopes to find a “resolution as quickly as possible”.
Unison has notified 13 councils: Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian.
Cireco, an arms-length waste management specialist company, will also be affected.
Unite has notified 18 councils: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, Highland and West Lothian.
GMB has also notified 18 councils: Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, East Ayrshire, City of Edinburgh, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian.
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A similar dispute in 2022 saw rubbish pile up on the streets of Scotland’s capital during Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival.
It was only brought to an end when the Scottish government provided extra funds to councils for workers’ pay.
The most recent COSLA offer is a blanket 3.2% pay rise for one year between April 2024 and March 2025.
Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said the proposal failed to match the escalating cost of living or the rise offered to council workers in England.
The unions met with COSLA leaders and Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison on Tuesday, but a deal was not agreed.
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Mr Greenaway said: “The process has gone on too long with too little progress. There is no more time to waste talking about old offers with new wrapping. Enough is enough.
“Industrial action will start in two weeks unless ministers and local authorities urgently identify the money needed to make a fair and acceptable offer.
“These strikes will be disruptive to all the Scots who rely on our members’ work but would not be necessary if councils had shown a greater urgency and sense of realism.”
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A COSLA spokesperson replied: “We are disappointed to hear that unions have announced strike dates in some areas so soon after a constructive joint meeting with Scottish government took place yesterday, and while negotiations are still ongoing.
“Our trade union partners are aware that considerable work is being done at pace to explore all options.
“We continue to reiterate that with no new funding in place, the 3.2% offer is the limit of affordability for councils in the current challenging financial circumstances.
“We value our workforce and are working to find a resolution as quickly as possible.”
