Edinburgh refuse workers have gathered to form a picket line outside the council's waste and recycling depot at Seafield, as the first day of city-wide strike action commences.
According to the council, "significant disruption" is expected between August 18 and August 30 due to industrial action by Unite the Union and GMB members. Residents throughout the city have expressed concerns regarding the situation and potential consequences of irregular waste collections, all during the busiest month of the year.
Marking the first day of the strike action, dozens of council refuse workers have gathered outside the centre on Seafield Road in solidarity, as the dispute over an improve pay offer continues between the workers union and council chiefs.
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One user on Twitter, who shared various pictures of workers gathering outside the depot, said: "Delighted to join GMB and Unite cleansing workers on picket lines in Edinburgh this morning." Pictures show dozens of workers standing outside the centre with RMT red flags, the main union for transport, rail and maritime workers across Scotland.
On Edinburgh Council's website, the public have been advised to check for regular updates on when collections will restart in each part of the city. Normal service is expected to be resumed when the strike action ends on August 30.
Writing on its official website, the council said: "We’re expecting significant disruption to all waste, recycling and street cleaning services between 18 and 30 August due to strike action by Unite the Union and GMB members.
"We understand the impact and inconvenience this will cause you and appreciate your patience and understanding. We’re developing a detailed recovery plan so the clean-up can begin immediately following the strike."
Services including waste and recycling collections, street cleansing, recycling centres, flytipping collections and the bulky uplift service will all be paused during the action, which falls during the city's busiest month of the year due to the ongoing Festival Fringe.
A revised pay offer was given to council workers with less than a week to go until the strike action began. It was hoped that a 3.5 per cent increase would be enough to prevent the walk-out, which was an increase of two per cent tabled by local government body Cosla. Edinburgh City Council leader Cammy Day said he didn't think unions would back anything less than five per cent.
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