Garbage strikes are planned in more than half of Scottish municipalities

Cleaning staff in more than half of Scotland’s local authorities could go on strike within weeks after a second union announced its members supported a walkout.

Unite said its members in 16 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities had supported strike action in cleaning and waste management companies over a pay dispute.

On Monday, the GMB announced that members of 13 councils supported a strike.

Unite said details of strikes by refuse workers, street cleaners and recycling centre operators would be announced in the coming days and could begin in about two weeks.

Unions warned that the action could lead to rubbish piling up in Edinburgh during the festival – a repeat of the 2022 bin strike.

Both unions rejected Cosla’s last collective agreement in May, which the council’s umbrella organisation said was a “strong offer at the limit of affordability”.

Graham McNab, Unite’s industrial officer, said: “Thousands of cleaning and waste workers are on the verge of going on strike within weeks. Our members have no choice but to fight for fair pay.”

“Local government employees deserve to be treated with respect but instead they were given a pathetic salary offer which Unite flatly rejected.

“The situation is entirely in the hands of Cosla and the Scottish Government, who can resolve the dispute at any time by offering a significantly improved salary.”

Both unions said that in addition to the strikes in the Scottish capital, they also had strike mandates from waste workers in the municipalities of Aberdeen, East Ayrshire, Fife, North Lanarkshire and Inverclyde.

Unite also claimed seats in Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Highland, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire and West Lothian.

According to GMB, waste workers in Aberdeenshire, South Lanarkshire, Midlothian, East Dunbartonshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross and Stirling are also supporting strike action.

GMB had previously stated that Cosla was “counting down the clock” for salary negotiations and accused the company of “blocking” the Scottish government’s intervention in the dispute.

The story goes on

Keir Greenaway, senior organiser for public services at GMB Scotland, said: “Council leaders have wasted months and missed opportunities. Our members have no time for waste, which is why councils across Scotland will be left with rubbish piling up unless a suitable offer is made. We have no interest in playing political games when so many are in difficulty.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Salary negotiations in local government are a matter for local authorities as employers and trade unions – the Scottish Government has no formal role in this.”

“The Scottish Government calls on all parties involved to work together constructively to reach an agreement that is fair for workers and affordable for employers.”

A Cosla spokesman said: “Cosla has made a strong offer at the limit of financial viability for the municipalities, a position reiterated by the municipal council leaders at their meeting last Friday.”

“With inflation falling and a one-size-fits-all budget deal from the Scottish Government, it remains important to pay our valued workers fairly. We call on our unions to reconsider their decision to reject the offer.

“We are disappointed that some of our unions in some local authority areas are currently planning industrial action and concerned that this will target waste management, again posing potential risks to public health.

“We respect the role of our unions in seeking to secure the best possible pay deal for their members. We reiterate our continued commitment to doing the best for our workforce who deliver vital local services in every community in Scotland.”