A MAJOR clean-up operation has started in Edinburgh following the resumption of waste and cleansing services after nearly two weeks of strike action by workers.
The city’s waste workers walked out on August 18 in a dispute over pay but returned to work on Tuesday in the capital where huge piles of rubbish have accumulated in many streets.
The strike was timed to coincide with festival season and spread to dozens of other council areas.
Other strike action taking place across Scotland is set to end this week, but another wave of industrial action in cleansing as well as education services will set to go ahead after unions on Monday rejected the latest pay offer.
Unite described Cosla’s latest offer, in which workers were offered a minimum of around £1925 extra, as a “waste of precious time”.
Hundreds of schools will close in various councils as education staff, including early years, join the strike action, which Unite estimates will involve around 2000 people.
Public Health Scotland has previously warned how the build-up of waste could become a risk to human health and told councils that “decontamination of public areas where bins have overflowed may be required”.
Edinburgh Council leader Cammy Day said: “All of our waste and cleansing crews will return to normal service on Tuesday.
“While they’ll be working hard to catch up on collections and making every effort to collect litter across the city, we’re expecting things to take a little while to return to normal, and I’d like to thank all those living in, working in or visiting the city for their patience.
“At first we’ll be focusing on street cleansing resources on the worst affected areas of the city and to help with this we will be bringing in additional resources to supplement our in-house crews from Tuesday.
“As per Public Health Scotland’s advice, any areas that need to be decontaminated will be, as part of street cleansing duties.”
Unison said they would hold a consultative ballot of members this week on the latest pay offer and would recommend they reject it.
According to the Scottish Government, the deal included a payment of at least £1925 for council staff, with those earning £20,000 to receive an extra £2000.
However, Unite said the payment could be as low as £989 for some employees, with 85% receiving between £1925 and £2000 and that any payment would not be recurring.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said all options in making more funding available amid the strikes have been “exhausted”.
GMB Scotland senior organiser Keir Greenaway said the unions pressed for a flat-rate increase, rather than one based on a percentage of a current wage, claiming that Cosla tabled a deal which “only feathers the nests of service directors”.
However, Cosla resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann said the offer was “as good as it gets”.
Unite’s industrial officer Wendy Dunsmore said: “The offer remains unacceptable and it represents a waste of precious time.
“We understand the gravity of the situation across the country but equally our members are facing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.”
