Vandals targeted a local business on Edinburgh’s busy Grassmarket after staff allegedly gathered refuse and litter into bin bags at some point before the bin strike had ended.
On Tuesday morning, Biddy Mulligan’s Irish pub was seen with bright red spray paint across the two front windows. On the right, the word ‘scabs’ was written. On the left, the hammer and sickle symbol was painted.
The hammer and sickle are symbols of working class solidarity. They are also the emblems of the former Soviet Union and have international communist connotations.
The graffiti was swiftly cleaned and covered with paint by noon on Tuesday, and the general manager declined to comment due to legal considerations.
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It is assumed that Biddy Mulligan’s staff had collected some loose litter in front of their business into black sacks during the strike. A Tweet on Monday also claimed staff had gathered some of the excessive rubbish.
Biddy Mulligan’s is an Irish pub facing Edinburgh’s Grassmarket, which was one of the worst hit areas in the city by the bin strikes. Twitter users were divided by the pub’s alleged actions.
“Anyone who thinks you’re a scab for picking up rubbish on your own doorstep is clearly part of the problem,” one user commented. “If you want a clean city, don’t scab by doing the workers’ jobs for free. Instead, support the strikers so they get their overdue pay rise sooner,” another wrote.
“I support the strikers 100%. I don’t see how clearing the filth from the front of their business makes them scabs. Every household has had to make alternative arrangements for their waste. Are they all scabs as well?
"Businesses could add their not inconsiderable voice to that of the striking workers since the strike also affects them,” another user said.
Another comment simply read: “scabs.” Police Scotland said officers have not received a complaint or report of vandalism as of Tuesday afternoon.
The alleged rubbish gathering and subsequent vandalism is all a result of ongoing strikes and negotiations between bin worker unions and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
Bin workers in Scotland’s Capital went on strike for 12 days throughout Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe to levy a better pay package in the face of the cost of living crisis.
Bin collections and street cleansing resumed in Edinburgh on Tuesday morning, but union representatives have warned strikes will continue next Wednesday if an agreement is not reached before then.
COSLA recently offered a £1,925 pay offer, but union workers and representatives ultimately rejected the offer because only part of that payment would have been consolidated into council workers' ongoing pay with the rest being delivered in one-off payments.
COSLA said they were "disappointed" with the response to their latest offer, and warned it was "as good as it gets".
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."
Negotiations between bin worker unions and COSLA are ongoing. However, if an agreement is not reached, workers will once again go on strike for six days starting September 7.
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