Strikes among waste workers in Tayside will go ahead as planned on Wednesday after a fresh round of talks ended without a deal.
Workers will join the strike from Wednesday as planned, as 11th hour discussions between the unions and Cosla, the umbrella body for Scottish local authorities, failed to produce a deal on the offer of a 5% pay increase.
The first wave of action has already left bins overflowing in Edinburgh, where members of Unite, Unison and GMB started strike action earlier this week.
Both Unison and Cosla say they will write to Deputy First Minister John Swinney to ask for an urgent meeting to discuss increased funding for councils.
Unions say this extra funding is necessary to allow talks to continue – the only issue they and Cosla reached agreement on.
Strikes to go ahead after last ditch meeting
Johanna Baxter, Unison Scotland’s head of local government, said: “Unfortunately there has been no breakthrough and we are a long way from a pay offer that we would be able to recommend to our members.
“Cosla negotiated within the cost envelope that leaders mandated them but that simply isn’t enough and goes nowhere near matching the pay offer provided to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“The only thing that both parties could agree on is that we need the urgent intervention from the deputy first minister to put additional funding in place and both will be writing to [John Swinney] to that effect today.”
Unite, which represents most waste workers in Dundee and Angus, confirmed they will strike as planned.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite makes no apologies for standing up for our council members across Scotland because they deserve better.
“We will fully support them in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
GMB Scotland senior organiser Keir Greenaway also confirmed strike action will go ahead in Perth and Kinross.
He said: “Our members are angry about the lack of value being shown to them by political leaders and scared about the prospect of pay that doesn’t confront a cost-of-living crisis that’s getting worse by the week.
“Cosla leaders meet again on Friday, and they have got to do so much better, because until our members concerns are addressed, strikes will continue, and they will grow.”
How bin strikes will affect you
Bin collection workers in Dundee and Angus are currently set to strike from Wednesday, with locals issued advice on how the manage their waste in their meantime.
Staff in Perth and Kinross will join the picket lines from Friday until Monday.
Councils in Angus and Perth and Kinross have issued advice for residents on what to do if the strikes go ahead.
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