Unions representing bin collectors say strikes will continue in Edinburgh next week after they rejected the latest pay increase offered by council leaders.
It means the capital's refuse and cleansing staff will be back on the streets for just a week when they return on Tuesday (August 30) before another walkout takes place – unless a deal is agreed before then.
And there are concerns the massive backlog of waste on the city streets which has been dubbed a 'health hazard' will not be cleared before staff walk out on strike again.
READ MORE: Edinburgh bin services resume on Tuesday as council confirms collection days
COSLA said they were "disappointed" with the response to their latest offer, and warned it was "as good as it gets".
Unison, Unite and GMB, which have been engaged in national negotiations with council leaders, confirmed today (Monday) they are urging members to reject the £1,925 offered by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
The latest deal put forward stated only part of that payment 'will be consolidated into council workers ongoing pay' with the rest being delivered in one-off payments.
Unite industrial officer Wendy Dunsmore said the "structure" of the offer on the table 'disproportionately and unfairly affects the lowest paid with the majority of those being women'.
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said the latest "unacceptable" offer "only feathers the nests of service directors".
He added: "A flat rate award is a key demand from unions to ensure more consolidated money goes into the pockets of frontline workers and not the highest paid in our councils."
Scott Arthur, Edinburgh City Council's transport and environment convener, said: "There can be no surprise that this latest offer from the Scottish Government has been rejected by key workers across Scotland because it does not match what the equivalent workers have been offered in England.
"From dawn tomorrow waste staff will be cleaning up the city centre and also getting kerbside deliveries back up and running again, we're obviously hopeful that we make a fair offer so that further industrial action can be averted."
Unison, the largest representative of local government staff in Scotland, pointed out that half of council workers earn less than £25k a year and are "all worrying about paying their bills".
The union's head of local government Johanna Baxter said the size of the current cost envelope "is simply not big enough to deliver a decent consolidated wage rise for the majority of our members."
Mark Ferguson, chair of Unison's local government committee, added: “Strike action is the last resort and we are always open to get around the table to reach a solution.”
Bin collections and street cleansing will resume in Edinburgh on Tuesday with the bulk of the clean up operation focusing on areas worst affected by strikes.
If talks continue to hit a brick wall more strike action will commence next Wednesday (September 7) for six days, as its feared the build up of waste on the streets and in households will not be cleared before then.
Over the last two weeks the city centre has been awash with garbage piles and overflowing bins as the capital hit its peak business with festivals in full swing.
And the situation has become to concerning that scotland's national public health agency admitted people could be at risk from the build up of food, animal and human waste like nappies.
Public Health Scotland has also urged councils to decontaminate areas where bins have overflowed.
Edinburgh City Council leader Cammy Day said it will "take time" for "things to return to normal".
He asked residents to "store your extra waste safely for a little longer" or book an appointment at a recycling centre.
Cllr Day added: "If your bin is not collected on its normal day, please leave it out and it’ll be picked up as soon as possible thereafter."
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmann said: “Council Leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we absolutely value and are grateful to all of our local government workforce.
“It is perhaps only when waste starts piling up and there is the prospect of further disruption to life with school closures that others see the hidden value local government services deliver each and every day of the year in our towns, villages and cities.
“It is for this reason that we as employers have done everything possible to put the best offer we can to our workforce. But we are now at the absolute extremes of affordability and this is already an offer which is stretching our already stretched finance like never before.
“This year’s offer is significantly better and different to previous offers and would have helped to support our Council workforces across the country at this difficult time.
“That support is crucial at any time but particularly now, during the cost of living crisis the country is facing. This is why we are so disappointed with the response to it from our Trade Union colleagues.
“Given our commitment as Employers to get to this point, we are disappointed that Trade Unions will not suspend planned strike action whilst they put this offer to members to allow workers to get back to doing what they do best, delivering high quality, essential services right across Scotland.
“My final point to the Trade Union colleagues is that we have done everything we possibly can to get to this stage and that this offer – which is still on the table - is as good as it gets.”
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