A planned eight-day strike by refuse and other council workers across Scotland was suspended on Monday, 12 August, after the three unions involved announced they would re-ballot their members on a revised pay offer.
The revised offer from COSLA – the representative body for Scotland’s local authorities – would see staff at all pay grades receive at least a 3.6% pay increase.
Those on the lowest pay would receive a 5.63% increase worth £1,292.
Strike action by Edinburgh’s waste and cleansing services had been set to begin on Wednesday, 14 August.
A similar strike during the city’s Fringe Festival two years ago led Public Health Scotland to declare a Health Warning over the buildup of food, animal, and human waste from overflowing bins.
The Unite union, which represents 18 Scottish councils including the City of Edinburgh Council, has recommended its members accept the offer.
Announcing the move, Unite’s lead negotiator Graham McNab said that:
“Unite members across all of Scotland’s councils should be applauded for standing firm”.
“We believe that the new pay offer is credible. For the first time in years, it will mean all council workers receiving an above inflation increase.”
The other two unions involved have adopted different stances to Unite. UNISON recommended that its members reject the offer, while GMB made no recommendation.
UNISON’s Scotland local government lead, David O’Connor, said the revised offer would “provide breathing space for further dialogue” but is “still not enough”.
He added that:
“Council staff have seen the value of their pay reduced by 25% over the past 14 years and any pay deal needs to do more to reverse this.”
Meanwhile, Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland’s senior organiser in public services, said GMB’s members “will decide if it is acceptable”.
“It is better than that offered to council staff in England and Wales, would mean every worker receives a rise higher than the Retail Price Index and, importantly, is weighted to ensure frontline workers gain most.”
“For months, we have been forced to waste time discussing a series of low-ball offers when it was already clear the Scottish Government needed to be at the table”, Greenway added.
All three unions rejected COSLA’s previous offer of 3.2% last month, which fell below the amount offered to council workers in England and Wales.
The improved offer was funded by £76.5 million provided by the Scottish government.
In a statement, the Scottish Government’s Finance and Local Government Secretary Shona Robinson said:
“Our swift action to ensure this strong offer could be made has been taken against an extremely challenging financial landscape and – while fair – represents the absolute limit of affordability.”
She added that the funding for this offer has come at the expense of reduced funding for other programmes.
The City of Edinburgh’s Council Leader and Labour Group Leader Cammy Day said he is “grateful that the Scottish Government have finally listened to local authorities”.
“If we do manage to reach a resolution, it will come as a huge relief to residents and businesses across Edinburgh, alongside the visitors from across the globe who are here experiencing our fantastic festivals.”
The ballot for Unite – which represents workers at the City of Edinburgh Council – will open on 15 August and close on 5 September. Bin collections will continue to run as normal during this period.
“Edinburgh Bins” by Commonorgarden is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
