Edinburgh waste workers to walk out during the Fringe
Hundreds of Edinburgh's waste workers are set to take strike action this month, during the Fringe and International festivals
Last updated 4th Aug 2022
Hundreds of Edinburgh's waste workers are set to strike this Month, during both the Fringe and International festivals.
All of Unite the Unions waste, recycling and street cleaning services in the nation’s capital city are set to walk-out in response to a ‘derisory’ 2 per cent local government pay offer.
The days of strike action in Edinburgh will begin on 18 August and end on 30 August the day following the end of the Edinburgh International and Fringe festivals.
It is estimated that around 250 Unite members based in Edinburgh will participate in the ‘first wave’ of strike action. Unite will be the largest trade union in terms of members involved in this initial phase of council strike action.
And now GMB Scotland have said they'll join in too.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members can’t tolerate derisory pay offers any longer from COSLA or the Scottish Government who ultimately control the purse strings.
"We believe the public of Edinburgh and across Scotland will support our members in taking this stand because no worker should be forced to accept a 'take it or leave it' real terms pay cut.
"Our members simply have no choice but to take strike action in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
Unite has repeatedly warned both the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) that the 2 per cent offer is unacceptable amid the deepening cost of living crisis with inflation soaring to 11.8 per cent.
Unite welcomed movement by COSLA in calling for a higher pay offer of 5 per cent if the Scottish Government was prepared to allocate extra cash to fund an improved offer. However, the trade union is demanding that council leaders fight harder for a fairer share of resources for local government workers.
Local government emerged as the biggest loser from the latest Scottish Government spending review with its funding frozen for the rest of the parliament.
Wendy Dunsmore, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite’s members in Edinburgh are now set to take strike action in a matter of days and this will severely impact the Edinburgh International and Fringe festivals.
"The blame for this situation lies squarely with COSLA and the Scottish Government who have continued to undervalue and treat council workers with contempt.
"Professional and hard-working people who turned up to work throughout the pandemic are being told to take a brutal real terms pay cut. It’s a shocking example of how those in power are now completely out of touch with working people in this country.”
It is reported that more than half of Scotland’s 250,000 council workers are earning less than £25,000 a year for a 37-hour week.
GMB Scotland Organiser Kirsten Muat warned:
“Waste will pile during the Edinburgh Festival unless a significantly improved pay offer for local government staff is tabled for our members’ consultation.
“When visitors from across the world ask why this is happening, the response will be straightforward: Our members are not prepared for local services to be delivered on the backs of the working poor.
“Our key workers deserved to be valued properly and ahead of a grim winter with forecasts of double-digit inflation and eye-watering energy bills, they urgently need pay that confronts this cost-of-living crisis.”