Leader comment: Bin dispute

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 10:14

FIVE months in, the bin dispute continues to surprise – because the streets of Edinburgh DON'T look like there is a strike on at all.

When the city's refuse collectors decided to work to rule to oppose changes to their working conditions there was much talk of mountains of waste piling up.

There were warnings, too, that councils never win such battles. In Leeds, for example, an on-going, all-out strike has been much more damaging.

But despite early signs of trouble here, including overflowing bins before the Festivals and even a rise in the rat population, the streets of the Capital are not a disgrace.

In fact, according to Keep Scotland Beautiful, the city centre in particular is cleaner than ever.

Rates of cleanliness do dip in parts of the Capital, and some have suggested that this may be because they are still being taken care of by council staff, as part of their work to rule.

Private contractors are meanwhile collecting the city centre's rubbish, and they are expected to focus on the busiest retail streets in particular over the festive shopping period.

We have no problem with that – indeed we applaud the council for working hard to stop the city getting clogged up in its own dirt.

But we won't know whether or not it has been worth it until the council reveals details of its contract with the private firms it has brought in – it won't for business confidentiality reasons.

It claims the cost has been offset by not having to pay bin workers overtime. But we won't know for sure until the council comes clean with us.

Tram troubles

APROJECT as ambitious, disruptive and expensive as Edinburgh's trams was always going to be controversial. Its critics are vocal and often appear on these pages.

But if trams firm TIE thought the level of abuse couldn't get any worse, they were wrong. In fact, it is about to go national.

As we reveal today, the cost to Scottish Water of coping with the works has been so great that it will have to raise its bills across Scotland.

Covering the multi-million-pound outlay won't make a huge difference to individual bills, but customers in Dumfries and Nairn will have a point if they ask why they should stump up for a project to benefit Edinburgh.

And those who answer that it is only fair for the whole nation to pay for the Capital's infrastructure should remember that it already is – to the tune of 500 million.