STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer, writing in The Herald, said that local government chiefs must make a “serious” pay offer to avert refuse worker strikes which will see rubbish pile up on Edinburgh’s streets during the Fringe Festival.
Discussing the impact bin collection strikes could have on the capital’s cultural showpiece, Ms Foyer warned that there could be similar scenes to those two years ago when rubbish was left uncollected for days.
Ms Foyer said: “In the here and now, as the Fringe kicks off, we could be seeing the rubbish piling high and it’ll be no laughing matter.
“Edinburgh City Council cannot hide the fact that their local government workers look set to go on strike again over further cuts to their pay and conditions.
“This isn’t a performance. This isn’t a show. This is real life. These are some of the lowest-paid workers throughout the public sector having to, yet again, organise within their workplaces to secure pay rises or changes to their conditions that merit their effort.”
Having already warned strikes could lead to a “stinking Scottish summer”, the unions Unison, Unite and the GMB all announced waste and recycling staff will walk out over pay from 5am on Wednesday August 14 to 4.59am on Thursday August 22, with in 26 of Scotland’s 32 councils affected.
The action comes after the unions rejected the 3.2% pay rise offered, which local government body Cosla insisted was at the limit of affordability for councils.
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The strike two years ago was only resolved when the Scottish Government stepped in and provided additional funding for council workers’ pay.
Ms Foyer wrote that it was time for Ministers to become involved again: “No one, least of all the workers, wants to do this dance again.
“If we are to avoid the scenes witnessed in 2022, with visitors coming to the Fringe faced with smells and sights befitting of Reekie’s title, there must be a serious offer put on the table from COSLA.
“But the Scottish Government has a leading role too. They’re the ones with the purse strings. Limited in scope, yes, but not powerless. As well as the Barnett Consequentials that will come from the UK Government’s pay offer to public sector workers, the Scottish Government have tax powers they can use. It’s about whether politicians think paying public sector workers fairly is a price worth paying.”
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