Scottish Unions Confirm Eight Days of Strikes in Waste Collection.destroyAllWindows

July 31, 2024 TruthUSA

The industrial action dates coincide with the Edinburgh Fringe and International festivals in August.

Scotland’s waste, refuse, and street cleaning staff are set to go on strike for eight days in August, as announced by the largest local government union, UNISON.

UNISON confirmed on Wednesday that waste workers in 13 council areas will walk out between August 14 and 22 after rejecting a pay offer from Cosla, the local government employer organization.

David O’Connor, the union’s local government lead in Scotland, emphasized that employers and the government will need to reach a settlement, noting UNISON’s efforts to resolve the pay issue since the beginning of the year.

After rejecting Cosla’s previous offer, UNISON announced the nine-day strike action in August

Cosla responded with a revised one-year pay offer of 3.2 percent for the period between April 2024 and the end of March 2025.

Unions UNISON, United, and GMB all rejected the offer, considering it to ‘grossly undervalue’ Scottish council workers compared to their UK counterparts.

The UNISON strikes will impact thirteen Scottish councils, including Glasgow, Fife, and Clackmannanshire.

United and GMB members will also strike in 18 council areas, affecting Edinburgh during its busy summer festival season.

Participants at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival may experience the effects of the 2022 strikes by bin collectors. Two years ago, litter overflowed in the city center bins, prompting Public Health Scotland to warn about health risks.

GMB Scotland’s Keir Greenaway, a senior organizer in public services, expressed that the strike action will disrupt the lives of all Scots and could have been avoided if councils had demonstrated greater urgency and realism.

Unless an improved pay offer is presented, the unions have cautioned that garbage will accumulate in Scottish streets, backcourts, and gardens.

They also highlighted that waste workers have endured years of below-inflation pay increases and require a pay deal that acknowledges their contributions.

“Strikes are always the last resort. But local government staff have seen the value of their wages reduced by a quarter over the past 14 years,” said UNISON Scotland local government chair Colette Hunter.

Negotiations

The announcement of strike action follows joint discussions between unions, Cosla leaders, and Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison on Tuesday.

The unions appreciated the “positive talks” but mentioned that they were “too late” to prevent the serving of strike notices.

“We had constructive talks with the Scottish Government and Cosla yesterday, but our members are less concerned with constructive talks than fair pay.

“The process has dragged on with minimal progress. There is no more time to entertain old offers with new packaging. Enough is enough.

“Industrial action will commence in two weeks unless ministers and local authorities can identify the necessary funds for an acceptable offer,” O’Connor stated.

According to Robison, officials from Holyrood will collaborate swiftly with local government representatives to determine an improved negotiating framework.

“I appreciate the willingness of Cosla and trade union leaders to engage productively in this process,” added Robison.

The Scottish Conservatives have urged First Minister John Swinney to intervene to resolve the dispute.

The Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesperson, Liz Smith, warned of a “public health risk” as well as the possibility of streets looking unkempt during the Edinburgh Festival.

However, Robison clarified that the “Scottish Government has no formal role in local pay negotiations.”

She also noted the challenging period faced by the UK’s public sector, with demands for cuts prevalent across various departments.

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