Takeaway pizza fuels late night council strike talks - but no deal
Union leaders met the First Minister in Edinburgh yesterday
Scottish families are still facing the prospect of school closures and more bin strikes after marathon talks between Nicola Sturgeon, unions and local authority bosses ended without a deal.
The First Minister met leaders from the three unions involved in the local government pay dispute which has seen mountains of rubbish pile up in towns and cities.
Late on Thursday, a Scottish Government spokesman said "detailed negotiations" had taken place and had "carried on late into the night".
Discussions had started at its Edinburgh headquarters at 2.30pm, and had even seen pizza delivered as talks progressed into the evening but, at about 10.40pm, the government urged sides to reach a settlement.
"We are grateful to all parties and would encourage all sides to continue to seek a fair and sustainable settlement," the spokesman said.
Rubbish clean-up begins
The discussions came after clean-up work got underway in some of Scotland's largest councils after several days of action by cleaning department workers.
Fresh strikes by waste workers are already planned for next week, when staff at a number of local authorities will walk out for eight days, while the dispute will also spread to schools and early years workers, who will take part in a three-day protest in some areas.
Unite is calling for a flat-rate increase of £3,000 for all council workers, although in a video posted on social media, Johanna Baxter of Unison - the largest of the three unions involved in the dispute - appeared dismissive of such a deal.
For such an offer to be acceptable, Ms Baxter, the head of local government at Unison Scotland, said there would need to be more money on the table, saying without it, a deal risked "literally taking money out of the pockets" of some workers.
Unite - which is involved in the dispute alongside Unison and the GMB - said earlier that it has served notice of strike action in 20 local authority areas.
No more money warns FM
However, Ms Sturgeon has already warned that all options for making more funding available for pay have been "exhausted".
The First Minister tweeted: "If we could go further we would, but @scotgov budget is finite."
She made the plea as clean-up operations got under way in parts of Scotland, including Glasgow, the country's largest local authority.
However, Glasgow City Council told residents to expect a "significant delay to all collections" due to the "extensive backlog".
Aberdeen City Council also said there is a large backlog of work and warned "there may still be disruption to normal services".
According to the Scottish Government, the latest offer included a payment of at least £1,925 for council staff, with those earning £20,000 receiving £2,000.
The scenes on our streets
Rubbish bins overflowing in the Grassmarket due to industrial action by Edinburgh council workers.
An overflowing bin can be seen outside the Waverley Market next to the station.
Rubbish pilling up in residential streets in Gorgie.
Tourists walk past overflowing bins, at the height of festival season in the Capital.
The sixth day of the Waste Service Strike has led to central Edinburgh becoming an unsanitary mess.
Rubbish bins overflowing outside Edinburgh Waverley.
Rubbish pilling up in residential streets in Gorgie.
Bins overflowing with rubbish are being taped up as they begin to overflow with waste, at the height of festival season.
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