Why council leaders could be ‘sleepwalking into crisis’ as Edinburgh bin strike looms during festivals

Union bosses have warned council leaders not to “sleepwalk into crisis” amid demands for urgent action to resolve a pay dispute that could see rubbish piled up in Edinburgh during the summer festivals.

GMB Scotland has called for crunch talks to be held to avert a repeat of industrial action two years ago when mounds of waste cluttered the streets of the capital at the height of the tourist season and summer festivals.

Unions have rejected the two-stage offer of a 2.2 per cent pay increase effective from 1 April to 30 September, and then two per cent for a 12-month period effective from 1 October to 30 September 2025.

Piles of rubbish and overflowing bins on August 29, 2022, the last day of Edinburgh's bin strike.

Refuse and cleansing workers across many of Scotland’s local authorities have backed industrial action with the first days of strikes expected next month.

The steering group for Cosla, the umbrella organisation for Scottish councils, will meet GMB and other public sector unions tomorrow but there are fears that without a breakthrough, industrial action will become increasingly inevitable.

The council negotiators can only negotiate within approved guidelines by local authority leaders and are not scheduled to meet until August 30, after the festivals have concluded.

Overflowing bin on Edinburgh's Royal Mile during the final week of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022. Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland’s senior organiser in public services, said: “Our members and Scots relying on their services have every right to expect council leaders do everything in their power to avoid industrial action.

“They are running out of time and seem to be sleepwalking into an avoidable crisis.

“If the scheduled talks do not find a resolution, council leaders must meet urgently to agree a new way forward and, if necessary, ask ministers for the support needed to fund a fair pay rise.

“They should be doing everything possible, working every hour, to find a way to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible.”

Garry Clarke, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) development manager for Fife, Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders, said: “We know what a bin strike in Edinburgh looks like during the festival – and what it smells like - after what happened two years ago.

“Rubbish piles up in the streets and creates a terrible stench outside the doors of many local businesses. That’s bad for the festivals, bad for the city’s international reputation as images of a filthy-looking World Heritage Centre get beamed around the world, and bad for business.

“We would like to see both sides urgently get round the table and try to resolve this dispute in the two weeks left before industrial action is due to start.”

A Cosla spokesperson said: “Cosla has made a strong pay offer for Scotland’s local government workforce. This offer is at the limit of affordability within the very constrained financial circumstances facing councils.

“We are disappointed that strike action is being considered in some areas, and are concerned about the detrimental impact this disruption would have on our people and communities.

“Dialogue with our trade unions, who have been comprehensively briefed on the financial circumstances councils are facing, is ongoing. We remain committed to reaching a resolution as quickly as possible.”