UNIONS have warned bin strikes could run till November as fresh talks begin with the Deputy First Minister to resolve a council workers pay dispute that has raised public health concerns as piles of rubbish remain unemptied.

Parts of Glasgow remain full of overflowing bins with Sauchiehall Street, one of the city's most famous thoroughfares strewn with cans, plastic bottles and even baby nappies along its one-and-a-half miles.

In Edinburgh, where a near two-week strike was due to conclude today, a clean-up operation had begun as waste and cleansing services resumed.

But Unite cleansing staff in 13 other local authorities, including Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee finish an eight-day action on Wednesday.

A new offer of a 5% increase with a varying one-off payment was put forward, with Unite saying that for the lower paid it is estimated to be around £989.

It has been rejected by all three dispute unions, Unite, GMB Scotland and UNISON Scotland in the wake of the latest round of talks with the local government body COSLA.

And Wendy Dunsmore, Unite's industrial officer, has warned of a "winter of discontent" if a dispute over pay is not resolved after the latest round of talks failed to reach an agreement.

She said it could run into October and November if a deal is not reached between the parties involved.

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She said: "Yes, we are absolutely resolute that this is going to be a winter of discontent and will escalate but we are hoping against all hope that the Scottish Government and COSLA will see sense and get back around the table with proper rise for the lowest paid within local authorities.

"There are no rounds of talks organised, as far as I'm aware, but we are urging the Scottish Government and COSLA to get back around the table and take part in meaningful negotiations. We will talk to anyone that will get this to an end, we'll go to any meeting, anytime, anywhere."

It is understood UNISON Scotland officials are among those who are meeting John Swinney today in the wake of the latest impasse.

GMB Scotland said they were against a cross-the-board percentage pay increase which would see the richest get richer and the poorer get poorer.

"The prospect of a heads of service getting four times more money than a bin collector, school cleaner or home carer is simply not credible," said a union source.

“We think the public will support the argument that a fairer share of money goes to workers who were visible in their communities throughout the pandemic, those collecting waste, supporting kids, and tending to the vulnerable, while their bosses had the relative safety of working from home.

“We say this to the Scottish Government and COSLA: A flat rate offer can be easily tabled. It’s not about affordability, it’s a straightforward choice about whether political leaders want to put more consolidated money into the wages of frontline workers or not.”

According to the Scottish Government, the deal included a payment of at least £1,925 for council staff, with those earning £20,000 receiving £2,000.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said all options in making more funding available amid the strikes have been "exhausted".

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She tweeted: "The new offer on the table from COSLA is backed by a further £200m of [Scottish Government] funding over this and next year. This ensures that the previous 5% offer is topped up to £1925 for all those earning below £39,000. For those earning £20,000 it delivers £2000, equivalent to 10%.

"I understand the pressures workers face which is why we have exhausted all options in last few days to make more funding available to support those on lowest incomes. If we could go further we would, but [Scottish Government budget is finite. I hope trade union members accept the offer."

So far only UNISON Scotland have said they will put their deal to the members through a consultative ballot, including a recommendation of rejection.

Some 25 of Scotland's 32 local authorities have been hit by the waste disposal strike, with various actions due to end over the next two days and resumed next week.

One three-day wave of action by UNISON Scotland and GMB Scotland ended on Monday.

Unite's ‘first wave’ of strike action in Edinburgh was to end today.

A further wave of action from Unite waste staff is due to end on Wednesday.

But a further tranche of waste disposal action is scheduled by all the unions starting on September 6 and 7. Unite are planning an eight-day action, while GMB Scotland and UNISON Scotland's stoppage is scheduled for four days.

Public Health Scotland has warned of a human health risk from overflowing waste, and advised councils to decontaminate areas where bins have overflowed.

Hundreds of schools and nurseries are set to be closed when as part of the dispute, some 13 councils will be hit by an schools and early learning staff stoppage on September 6, 7 and 8.

Thousands of staff from all three unions that are in dispute will be taking part in the stoppage in Glasgow and East Renfrewshire.

At least one union will be orchestrating strikes by education workers in nine other council areas - Orkney Islands, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Inverclyde.

Unite staff employed by Tayside Contracts who provide catering and janitorial services to schools across Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross councils will also strike.

Unite reported that more than half of Scotland’s 250,000 council workers are earning less than £25,000 a year for a 37-hour week.

It estimates that the offer in total represents for around 85 per cent of the workforce between £1,925 and £2,000.

The first bin strike began in the capital city on August 18 in the midst of festival season, after the unions - the GMB, Unite and Unison - rejected an initial pay offer equivalent to a 3.5% increase.

Edinburgh Council leader Cammy Day said: “All of our waste and cleansing crews will return to normal service on Tuesday.

“While they’ll be working hard to catch up on collections and making every effort to collect litter across the city, we’re expecting things to take a little while to return to normal, and I’d like to thank all those living in, working in or visiting the city for their patience.

“At first we’ll be focusing street cleansing resources on the worst affected areas of the city and to help with this we will be bringing in additional resources to supplement our in-house crews from Tuesday.

“As per Public Health Scotland’s advice, any areas that need to be decontaminated will be, as part of street cleansing duties.”

He said he expects the rubbish to be cleared by the end of the week.

The council said that additional resources will be deployed to support the clean-up effort, particularly in the city centre and other areas most affected by the strike.

COSLA resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann said this offer was “as good as it gets”.

 

 

Waste and recycling services strike

Unite

 

August 18-30:  City of Edinburgh

August 24 to 31 (8 days action) - Aberdeen City, Angus, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian. September 6 to 13 September (8 days action) – Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian.

UNISON

August 26 to 29 and September 7 to 10 - Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire.

GMB Scotland

August 26 to 29 and September 7 to 10 - Aberdeen City, Angus, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Glasgow, Inverclyde,Highland, Midlothian, Orkney, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian, Perth and Kinross, North Lanarkshire.