Bins across the region will not be emptied next month due to strike action.
Waste workers in the Unite union will stage a walk out between September 6 and 13.
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 19 councils across Scotland set to be hit by the latest stage of industrial action, which is being held due to a pay dispute between Unite, Unison and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). They voted for strike action after rejecting a two per cent deal from COSLA, with Unite’s local government committee this week knocking back an improved offer of five per cent.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members are taking strike action because the politicians have failed them miserably. For five months COSLA and the Scottish Government have dithered and bickered with each other while our members have increasingly faced a cost of living crisis. We will fully support them in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
Waste workers in Edinburgh began strike action last week, with workers in a number of other areas joining them on Tuesday.
Next month’s walk out will be the first time workers in Dumfries and Galloway have joined the strikes.
Members of both the Unison and GMB unions in Dumfries and Galloway also voted for industrial action after rejecting the offer but did not meet the required turnout rate for strike action in the region.
Officials from all three unions say they held “constructive talks” with Deputy First Minister John Swinney on Wednesday in a bid to resolve the dispute.
Following the meeting, Mr Swinney said he would prefer industrial action “didn’t spread to other parts of the country” but pointed out the Scottish Government had already provided an extra £140 million to councils to help fund the improved five per cent offer.
The latest COSLA offer would see the new Scottish local government living wage rise to £10.50.
But Unite claims that for more than half of local government workers, the offer represents an increase of up to £1,250 while south of the border the UK Government has offered council workers in England a flat rate pay offer of £1,925.
Following Wednesday’s talks, COSLA resources spokesperson and Mid Galloway and Wigtown West councillor Katie Hagmann said: “We fully understand that our trade union colleagues want the best possible deal for their members, especially given the concerns many within our workforce have around the cost of living crisis we are currently facing.
She insisted the new offer would see the lowest paid 12 per cent of workers receive an increase above five – adding this was “one of, if not the best offer in decades for Scottish local government workers”.
