John Swinney can see off Scotland's looming bin strikes for £50m, union sources have told The Herald.

Emergency funding for councils from the government would plug the gap between the 3.2% pay hike offered by Cosla and the 4% pay rise that would likely be accepted by the country’s waste and recycling workers.

Sources close to the negotiations said this would match the offer made to staff by local authorities south of the border.

READ MORE: Scotland to be hit by bin strikes as unions reject offer

The call for the First Minister to intervene in the dispute comes ahead of today's emergency talks between unions and employers.

The prospect of a “stinking summer” with “mountains of rubbish” on the streets escalated on Monday when the GMB and Unite joined with Unison to reject a pay deal.

The three unions representing the country’s public sector workers say their counterparts in England have been offered a pay rise of £1,290, which represents a 5.2% rise for those earning £25,000 a year.

However, Scotland’s cash-stapped councils insisted the 3.2% pay rise backdated to April they are offering is at the “absolute limit of affordability.”

One source told The Herald: “The offer to council workers down south is not earth-shattering but is substantially higher than what is on the table here.

“The idea that Scottish staff are going to accept less than colleagues across the border is delusional.

“According to the figures, the councils need £50m to even match the offer in England and have nowhere to get it apart from the Scottish Government.

“The buck will stop at the First Minister’s office sooner or later and it would be better for everyone if he gets involved with some urgency.”

Last week, The Herald told how SNP-run councils vetoed a bid by Labour and Tory-led authorities to ask the Scottish Government for more cash.

Louise Gilmour, the GMB’s Scotland secretary, urged council leaders to reconsider at today’s special meeting.

She said: “Councils have limited finances and Cosla claims an improved offer is impossible.

“If the Scottish Government does not come to the table, there will be no meaningful discussions, no route to a resolution and no chance of halting strike action.

“The gridlock has been caused by some council leaders blocking attempts to approach the Scottish Government. The First Minister could and should break that gridlock.”

READ MORE: Bin strikes: SNP stopped councils asking John Swinney for more money

Ms Gilmour said any offer to Scots council workers must, at a minimum, match the rise offered to public sector workers in England, particularly given recent reports suggesting teachers and NHS workers could be in line for a 5.5% hike.

The union boss said today’s special meeting of council leaders is one of the last chances to avert industrial action.

She added: “If there is no fair offer, this dispute will only escalate causing disruption for the millions of Scots relying on the frontline services delivered by our members.

“Strike action can be averted but only with the support of the Scottish Government. That support needs to arrive as a matter of urgency.”

Unless resolved, industrial action could now hit most of Scotland’s councils as soon as August.

It would be particularly embarrassing for Edinburgh, which will be teeming with visitors for the city’s summer festivals.

Bin strikes two years ago left the capital's streets overrun with litter.

Residents were told to keep all rubbish indoors, while Public Health Scotland warned of a risk to health as bins overflowed with food, animal and human waste like nappies.

That led to bad headlines for the then first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who took part in a number of Fringe shows, but refused to get involved in pay talks. 

Eventually, after two weeks, she met with unions and council leaders.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon slated for doing Edinburgh Fringe gig while garbage piles in streets

Yesterday, Mr Swinney also appeared reluctant to get involved.

Speaking to reporters in Dunfermline, Mr Swinney said: “This is fundamentally a negotiation between local authorities and their trade union counterparts, and it’s important that I encourage those negotiations to come to a positive resolution.

“Nobody wants to see strike action taking its course – I certainly don’t want to see that – and I would encourage both local authorities, and trade unions, to come together the resolve these issues and to avoid industrial action by resolving the pay claim.”

Asked if the Scottish Government would make more money available, Mr Swinney said his administration was under “enormous financial pressure.”

He added: “I recognise that to be a challenge to other public bodies as well, which is why I made such a call during the election campaign for the immediate end to austerity, and to the injection of resources into our public finances and public services.”

(Image: Jane Barlow/PA)

The First Minister continued: “The Government has got enormous constraints in which it’s operating in relation to public finances. I have to live in the reality of the resources we’ve got available to us.

“We face enormous pressure, we’ve (communicated) that to Parliament for some considerable time and we simply have to address the fact that the public finances are under that significant pressure.”

Cosla Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann said they were "extremely disappointed" that unions had rejected the offer.

She added: "I'll reiterate that the revised offer we put forward last week was a strong, fair and credible pay offer, higher than the rate of inflation and worth more than the first year of the Scottish Government's Public Sector Pay Policy.

"We have been very clear in all discussions with trade unions that the offer is at the very limit of affordability for councils given the challenging financial circumstances we are facing.

"While we are disappointed with this outcome, we remain committed to continuing to engage as positively as we can with our trade unions."