Edinburgh residents are being urged to 'store waste at home' as bin strikes continue.
Waste workers in Edinburgh have taken strike action leading to rubbish-strewn streets in the midst of the Festival Fringe.
Bins are overflowing and litter has scattered the city as Edinburgh City Council waste staff walked out on Thursday August 18 as part of an 11-day protest over a 'pathetic' pay rise offer of 3.5 per cent. On Friday local authorities increased the pay deal to five per cent.
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Unite and GMB Scotland are set to meet with Cosla on Tuesday after Unite said it would "reassess the situation".
Strike action across Scotland is a coordinated effort between Unite, Unison and the GMB unions in a bid to receive an improved council pay deal.
When will the bin strikes end?
There are to be strike action across 14 councils with industrial action set to last until August 30 in Edinburgh.
Social media has been littered with images of Edinburgh as rubbish is piling up through the capital city as it hosts one of the biggest art festivals.
What can people do about the litter in Edinburgh?
Residents have been urged to 'play their part' and avoid adding to the mess, meanwhile festival-goers are being asked to take their rubbish home with them.
City conservation charity The Cockburn Association, Director Terry Levinthal told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "Until such time as the strike action is resolved, I think everybody has a part to play in this. People who live in the city have to manage their waste appropriately.
"Don't put it out - there is no sense in putting it on the street.
"There is waste that you can store - inert waste like cardboard, that kind of stuff. You can find a corner in your house or flat to keep it. It's that kind of management we need to get through this."
Alison Maclean, Unite industrial officer, said: "Unite's local government committee has reaffirmed that the strike action ongoing in Edinburgh and scheduled to take place in a further 14 councils continues as planned.
"There remains insignificant detail on the five per cent pay offer, and what this in reality means for the lowest paid workers.
"At this moment the offer from Cosla remains a vague aspirational pledge but Unite can't take anything to our wider membership unless we have specifics and guarantees."
Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland’s senior organiser, said union members wanted “clarity from Cosla about whether this proposal comes with the assurance of a flat rate award, a key demand of the union pay claim”.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We urge local authority and union representatives to come to an agreement to resolve the dispute as soon as possible.
“The Scottish Government is treating councils fairly and providing a real terms increase of 6.3 per cent to local authority budgets this year, as well as providing an extra £140 million of funding on a recurring basis to support a higher pay award for council staff.”
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