Unions Reject Pay Offers, Warn of ‘Winter of Discontent’ in Scotland

Edinburgh's waste workers clearing mountains of rubbish at the Grassmarket as they return to work following their 11 days of industrial action, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Aug. 30, 2022. Lesley Martin/PA Media

Trade unions have rejected the Scottish government’s pay offers and threatened to escalate strike actions in an upcoming “winter of discontent.”

Authorities in the Scottish capital Edinburgh started a major clean-up operation on Tuesday, after nearly two weeks of industrial action by the city’s waste workers left huge piles of rubbish in many streets in the city centre.

But another wave of strikes will go ahead next week after the Unite union rejected the latest “unacceptable” offer from local authorities on Monday.

Wendy Dunsmore, industrial officer of Unite, told BBC Radio Scotland’s “Good Morning Scotland” programme, “We are absolutely resolute that this is going to be a winter of discontent and it will escalate.”

She said the union is “hoping against all hope” that the Scottish government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) would come back to the negotiating table with an improved offer.

Risk to Health

The strike was timed to coincide with Edinburgh’s festival season, and spread to around two thirds of other council areas.

Public Health Scotland previously warned 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 that all the city’s waste and cleansing crews have returned 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,” he said.

“As per Public Health Scotland’s advice, any areas that need to be decontaminated will be, as part of street cleansing duties,” he added.

He later told BBC Radio Scotland he expects the rubbish to be cleared by the end of the week.

Options ‘Exhausted’

After negotiations over the weekend, Unite and the GMB union both rejected an offer from COSLA. Unison said it would hold a consultative ballot of members this week on the offer, and would recommend they reject it.

According to the Scottish government, the deal included a payment of at least £1,925 ($2,245) for council staff, with those earning £20,000 receiving £2,000.

But Unite said the payment could be as low as £989 for some employees, with 85 percent receiving between £1,925 and £2,000, and 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.”

PA Media contributed to this report.