Savings of £3.1m are needed in next year's Edinburgh City Council budget to fund the wage rise that has averted more bin strikes from going ahead.
Weeks of negotiation drew to a close last week after unions accepted an offer that will give the lowest paid local government workers a 10 per cent pay increase.
And while it came as a relief that further strike action planned by the capital's waste and cleansing staff was called off, difficult decisions lie ahead for council bosses who need to find around £13 million over the next five years to cover the pay deal—meaning cuts elsewhere will be necessary.
