*** UPDATE – STRIKES SUSPENDED FOLLOWING NEW PAY OFFER ***
UNITE members in Waste and Cleansing will walk out again from Tuesday 6th to Tuesday 13th September as the dispute over local government pay in Scotland continues.
Schools workers in Edinburgh are not on strike.
Unite is adamant that until COSLA obtains funding from the Scottish Government to offer a proper pay rise, action will continue with the mandates we have in waste and schools.
The First Minister held talks with both Cosla and the striking trade unions yesterday in an attempt to break the deadlock. There has been some progress and a deal is inching closer. Talks will continue today.
UPDATE: 3.30pm UNITE has suspended next week’s strike action as members consider an improved pay offer
COSLA last night expressed its disappointment with the Local Government Trade Unions reaction to ‘one of the best pay deals for their workforce in decades’.
The offer, negotiated on behalf of Scotland’s 32 councils, is an overall package worth half a billion pounds, giving 5% to all staff plus an additional cost of living payment to our lowest paid employees. Based on a 37-hour week no member of staff will get less than an additional £1925 and for those earning under £20,500 at least a £2,000 pay increase – for this year and also next year.
This has been designed to address the concerns and firm view of Trade Unions that the lowest paid must be protected during this crisis and demonstrates Local Government’s commitment to not leave anyone behind.
Councils continue to strive to lead the way in pushing up minimum rates of pay and as well as this are including an extra days annual leave this year.
Councillor Katie Hagmann COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson said: “Council Leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we absolutely value and are grateful to all of our local government workforce.
“It is perhaps only when waste starts piling up and there is the prospect of further disruption to life with school closures that others see the hidden value local government services deliver each and every day of the year in our towns, villages and cities.
“It is for this reason that we as employers have done everything possible to put the best offer we can to our workforce. But we are now at the absolute extremes of affordability and this is already an offer which is stretching our already stretched finances like never before.
“This year’s offer is significantly better and different to previous offers and would have helped to support our Council workforces across the country at this difficult time.
“That support is crucial at any time but particularly now, during the cost of living crisis the country is facing. This is why we are so disappointed with the response to it from our Trade Union colleagues.
“Given our commitment as Employers to get to this point, we are disappointed that Trade Unions will not suspend planned strike action whilst they put this offer to members to allow workers to get back to doing what they do best, delivering high quality, essential services right across Scotland.
“My final point to the Trade Union colleagues is that we have done everything we possibly can to get to this stage and that this offer – which is still on the table – is as good as it gets.”
UNISON responded: ‘Strikes to continue – We will recommend UNISON council members vote to reject the latest LG pay offer in a digital consultative ballot in the coming days.’
GMB Scotland and Unite, the two other unions locked in the local government dispute, also rejected the latest pay offer. GMB says the council pay offer feathers nests of service directors over frontline staff.
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said: “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. COSLA knew this but instead tabled this offer as an across-the-board percentage rise that only feathers the nests of service directors.
“This was unacceptable to our local government committee members. It’s not credible that in the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years, and with inflation and energy bills soaring, a head of service gets four times the consolidated increase than a bin collector, cleaner or carer.
“That’s why we have written to COSLA again this evening urging them to return to talks as soon as possible and to negotiate a new offer based on a flat rate increase. If they don’t do this, then when our committee reconvenes tomorrow, we will outline our plans to fully consult GMB members.”
The big clean up begins in Edinburgh this morning – but unless a pay deal can be thrashed out we could be facing another round of industrial action in Auld Reekie as earky as next week.
UNITE members rallied outside the City Chambers yesterday to mark the end of the first wave of strikes – but made clear this dispute is far from over.
A Unite spokesperson said: “Unless they get an offer Local Authority workers deserve, Edinburgh will be joined by 19 other Councils to take further action from September 6th.”
Work to clear mountains of rubbish on Edinburgh’s stinking streets begins tomorrow
The City of Edinburgh Council is preparing to resume waste and cleansing services following industrial action.
With the scheduled strike due to end at 4.59am on Tuesday, additional resources are being deployed to support street cleansing and communal bin collections, particularly in the city centre and other areas most affected by the strike.
Residents receiving kerbside collections are being asked to put their bins out as normal on their scheduled collection day. Extra waste will be collected during this time, if it is bagged and put next to wheelie or communal bins
Blue box (glass) collections will continue to be suspended to prioritise resources, though Household Waste and Recycling Centres will reopen from Tuesday with extended hours. Bookings can be made online as normal.
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “I regret the impact this national crisis has had on our Capital city and am continuing to press the Scottish Government to fund an acceptable settlement. Talks are continuing over the weekend and I’m hopeful we can reach agreement and prevent any further disruption.
“As I’ve said throughout, I fully respect the right of our colleagues to take this action and have their voices heard. As a trade union member myself, I’ve joined the picket lines in support of fair pay for our workforce and will do so again.”
He may have joined a picket line, butEdinburgh’s Labour council leader has been criticised for voting AGAINST a 5% pay offer to the striking workers, instead voting with the Tories at a Cosla meeting to support an increase of just 3.5% – an offer that would never have been acceptable to the trade unions.
However Cllr Day went on:”This dispute has brought the value of our waste and cleansing teams – and their right to fair wage – into sharp focus and I’m delighted they’ll be back out from Tuesday, helping to return our city to its best.
“While they’ll be working hard to catch up on collections and making every effort to collect litter across the city, it’ll take time for things to return to normal. Please bear with them as they do so and, if you can store your extra waste safely for a little longer or are able to book an appointment at a recycling centre, please do so.
“If your bin is not collected on its normal day, please leave it out and it’ll be picked up as soon as possible thereafter.
“I appreciate that this has been an extremely challenging period for us all and I would like to thank our residents, businesses and visitors for their continued patience and understanding.”
While the industrial action in Edinburgh ends tomorrow, the pay claim has not been resolved and further strikes will follow unless a settlement can be reached. Some progress has been made however and a deal is edging closer – Cosla and the trade unions will meet for a fifth day of talks later today.
Services restart 30 August
Our bin collection and street cleaning services will restart onTuesday 30 August.
We’ll be working hard to catch up on collections after the strike action.
If you are able to take excess waste, such as cardboard, plastics and other dry recycling, to the household waste recycling centres, please book an appointment. This would help our teams collect other waste more quickly. Recycling centres hours have been extended.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Communal services
Communal bin collections are restarting from 30 August.
We will collect excess waste – please bag it and place it neatly beside the bin. If you can, please put mixed recycling in a clear bag.
We have additional council teams helping with collections however it may take time for collections to get back to normal and we appreciate your patience.
Kerbside services
Restarting on 30 August and will be focused on key services.
There may be some disruption as we catch up on the backlog.
If your bins are not emptied on your normal collection day, please leave them out until we get to them.
Non-recyclable waste collections (grey bins)
Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
We will collect excess waste as long as it is bagged. Please bag your extra waste neatly beside your wheelie bin on your scheduled collection day.
Mixed recycling collections (green bins)
Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
We will collect excess waste as long as it is bagged. Please bag your extra waste neatly beside your wheelie bin on your scheduled collection day. If possible, please bag your mixed recycling in a clear bag.
Food waste collections
Restarting on 30 August.
Please put your food bin out on your next scheduled collection day. Please do not present excess food waste outside the caddy.
Glass collections (blue box)
To allow us to catch up with collecting other waste, kerbside glass collections is still suspended. We will let you know when this collection will restart.
Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
If you’re a garden waste customer, we’ll be in touch shortly with details of how we’ll compensate you for any collections missed during the strike.
Gull proof sacks
Please put your sack out for collection on your scheduled collection day this week.
We will collect extra waste. Please bag it and leave it neatly beside your sack.
Litter bins and street cleansing
These services will restart from 30 August.
Our street cleansing teams will be prioritising the city centre, town centres, and areas with high footfall and many on-street bins.
We’ll be working hard to collect litter across the city but it may take time to catch up on the backlog. Thank you for your patience.
Request and replacing bins and boxes
Our repair, replacement or removal of bins and boxes service is still suspended. This is to allow us to divert resources to cleansing and waste collections.
Waste reporting and enquires
We have removed online reporting for waste and cleansing as we focus on catching up with cleansing and waste collections.
If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard, please phone and listen to the new options carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100 from
EDINBURGH’s bin collections will restart when the strike ends on Tuesday 30 August,the city council has announced.
In a tweet posted last night, a city council spokesperson said: ‘Bin collections will restart when the strike ends on Tuesday 30 August. We’ve developed a recovery plan and will shortly be updating our website with advice on what to do with your bins next week – watch this space.
‘Thanks for your patience.’
Talks to resolve the national bin strike will continue this week.
TALKS to resolve the local government workers strike ended without an agreement being reached yesterday.
Unions had sought clarity over a 5% offer tabled at a meeting with local government organisation Cosla but the employers were unable to give sufficient reassurances to enable unions to call off planned strikes across the country.
This means the ongoing strike in Edinburgh will continue, with other council areas also being hit by industrial action for the first time today.
Edinburgh North and Leith SNP MP Deirdre Brock said the capital’s Labour-run council had failed to put forward a decent pay offer.
Edinburgh council’sLabour leader Cammy Day was criticised last week for offering just 3.5% to council workers while other council leaders were pushing for a 5%pay rise for their workers.
Ms Brock said: “The SNP in government put an extra £140m on the table, on top of the £100m extra given to councils earlier in the year, yet Labour refused to offer that money to refuse workers for over a week, leaving our capital streets an eyesore.
“Residents and tourists alike need to see a plan from Labour to clean up the capital starting today. All we’ve seen so far is ineptitude.”
Her Edinburgh SNP colleague Angus Robertson MSP weighed in:
The Labour administration in Edinburgh is propped up by the Scottish Conservatives and the Lib Dems, but the Tory Local Government spokesperson Miles Briggs MSP had a go at both the Labour-led council and the SNP Holyrood government:
Lamenting the city council’s ‘astounding’ lack of contingency planning – trade unions have made their plans very clear in the run-up to the strike – Lothians list MSP Miles Briggs said: “More could have been done to prepare the city, such as working with private companies or providing additional bins.
“The SNP government must get around the table and fix this before it’s too late. They cannot stand by and watch while a situation that they created by giving councils a poor funding settlement spirals out of control.”
Scotish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole Hamilton lays the blame squarely on the Scottish Government:
“Think of the white elephants the SNP has splurged cash on: independence, the ferries debacle, the embassies so they can play ‘dress-up diplomat’. All of this could have gone to councils to allow them to settle these very reasonable pay expectations.”
Talking of white elephants, our cash-strapped city council chose yesterday to announce £1 BILLION plans for a new North-South tram line … but that’s another story!
Responding to the Edinburgh refuse workers’ industrial action, Labour Lothian list MSP Foysul Choudhury said:“SNP representatives should get off their high horse about the ongoing industrial action when they should have been canvassing their own party in the Scottish Government to agree extra cash with COSLA for councils to pay workers a fair wage, rather than expecting Edinburgh City Council to cut services elsewhere.
“It is up to the Scottish Government and COSLA to agree further funding, and then up to COSLA and the unions to agree the terms of any new pay deal, not Edinburgh City Council. As a former City Councillor, Deidre Brock knows this and yet has pretended otherwise in the media.
“Nobody wants to see the streets of Edinburgh in their current state, but the ongoing industrial action shows what a crucial job refuse and recycling workers do and demonstrates why we should be paying them fairly for their work.
“At the same time it is ridiculous for SNP representatives to lay the strike at the hands of a Labour-led council when it is their party which has repeatedly slashed local government budgets in real terms, forcing councils to cut their services to the bone.
“If the SNP really wanted to avoid these strikes rather than play politics, they should have come to an agreement with COSLA sooner, or better still, avoided imposing successive years of painful austerity for local authorities across Scotland.”
UNITE City of Edinburgh Branch pointed out: “Misinformation on #edinburghbinstrikes today is rife. Strike is a national dispute—one council can’t stop it. 14 more councils tomorrow.
“Local government funding has been slashed for a decade. Idea that 5% definitely would have stopped this is a fantasy. An insulting one at that.”
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer is backing the striking unions. In a tweet yesterday, Ms Foyer said: “Solidarity to all of you. Keep fighting!
“All Scotland’s local government workers deserve a decent pay rise for the vital work you do. Let’s show our support on the picket lines across Scotland tomorrow.”
PLANNED INDUSTRIAL ACTION:
Unison
School and early years workers will strike on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September, joining UNISON waste and recycling staff who will have already started their strike action on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
Unite
Strikes will be held between the 18th August – 30th in Edinburgh with a second wave expected in a further 14 local authorities this week.
Aberdeen City, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.
In the first wave of action cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
Cleansing workers will strike in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
City of Edinburgh Council: Disruption to Waste Services
We appreciate the impact and inconvenience this will cause you and appreciate your understanding. Please help us to keep the city as clean and safe as possible during the strike by following this guidance:
Regularly check our website and Twitter account for updates on services suspended and when collections will restart in your area. Be aware normal collections may take a while to get back to schedule after the strike ends.
Don’t put any bins, boxes or bags out for collection until the situation changes.
Stock up on strong black bags, and be prepared to fill, seal and store these with extra waste.
When separating your recycling, please try to flatten all cardboard and crush drinks cans and bottles. You can bag these up, separated, to empty into the recycling bin when you can.
Store waste sensibly and safely. If possible, use and share empty garage space with your neighbours or store bags in your garden or driveway.
Don’t store waste in stairwells or landings, where it could become a fire hazard.
Be careful not to block bin chutes or overfill them.
Keep all food waste separate and in an enclosed container, to help prevent smells attracting wildlife.
Talk to your neighbours and share responsibility for keeping spillages to a minimum. Help neighbours who may need support managing their waste. Explain the situation to those who may not have heard.
Please do not leave bags or any bulky items next to full bins. These will not get cleared away and could become a hazard.
Join with neighbours to do local litter picking clean ups, especially around on-street bins and litter bins on your street.
If a bin is full to overflowing, don’t use it, particularly for dog fouling. Please either use a bin that’s not full or take it home and double bag it to reduce smells.
Report a waste emergency
If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard call us and listen to select an option carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100, from Monday -Thursday 1000-1600 and Friday 1000-1500. After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.
You can also email waste@edinburgh.gov.uk with the specific location and details of the issue.
Local government umbrella organisation Cosla has tabled an improved offer in a bid to end planned industrial action bu council workers.
COSLA Resources spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmann said yesterday: “Following Leader’s Special meeting today they have mandated me to move forward with our trade union partners on the basis ofan offer that raises the overall value to 5% and in addition raises the Scottish Local Government Living Wage to £10.50.
“In doing so, Leaders have reaffirmed the need for a discussion with Scottish Government on how they can support Councils by providing flexibilities and long term funding support.
“This will limit the risk to public services and the impact on communities”.
Local Government trade unions will now take the improved offer to their members, but with inflation currently running at 10.1% it’s far from certain that the offer will be enough to end the ongoing strike here in Edinburgh and industrial action set to take place across Scotland next week.
The Bank of England has warned that inflation will exceed 11% this year and could go even higher.
Strike action began in Edinburgh on Thursday when GMB Scotland and Unite the union members employed by The City of Edinburgh Council took the first of 11 days of strike action.
A GMB spokesperson said: “Waste will pile up during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We make no apologies for this. Political leaders are to blame, and if they want to stop these strikes then our members need a pay offer that confronts this cost-of-living crisis.
“Our members won’t accept working poverty as an inevitability. They’re standing together and fighting for the pay rise they deserve.”
Unite members in Waste and Cleansing in Edinburgh will begin industrial action today over the ‘insulting’ pay offer for local government workers.
Last Friday, COSLA increased the offer from 2% to 3.5%. All three unions of the Scottish Joint Council -Unite, Unison and GMB – immediately rejected the offer.
The NHS have been offered—and look set to reject—5%, so once again local government is treated as the poor relation of the public sector. Local government workers in England have been offered a rise of £1,925.
Edinburgh is the first council to take action, with others following on the 24th.
Pickets and support
The strike takes place from 5am today to 5am on Tuesday 30 August with daily pickets at seven waste depots across the city.
UNITE will be demonstrating at the City Chambers on Thursday 18 August at 9am as part of the industrial action.
Following this, the trade union will join the RMT rally on Waverley Bridge at 10am to foster solidarity among workers and hear from Mick Lynch and Mark Thomas.
THE CITY COUNCIL HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING ADVICE:
What to do with your waste and recycling
Communal services
Collections are suspended for all communal waste and recycling bins. Please do not add to full bins. Check nearby bins instead, and when these are all full, store your waste at home, or in your back green or garden if possible. Do not leave bags next to bins unless this is unavoidable, as it can become a hazard.
Keep separating your waste and rinse pots, tubs and trays, and rinse and squash your plastic bottles and aluminium cans, so that these don’t smell while you store them. Flatten cardboard too.
Keep food waste in a sealed container, as cool as possible.
Glass bank services will continue as these are managed by an external contactor.
Kerbside services
Non recyclable waste collections (grey bins)
Suspended. Please do not put your grey bin out. Please keep your waste safe, secure and away from pavements and roads. Consider using a garage, garden or driveway and ensure strong bin bags are properly secured.
Mixed recycling collections (green bins)
Suspended. Please do not put your green bin out. Please keep your recycling clean and flattened, and stored safely.
Food waste collections
Suspended. Please do not put your food bin out. Please ensure your kerbside food waste bin is closed and secured to prevent animal access.
Glass collections (blue box)
Suspended. Please do not put your blue box out. Please rinse bottles and jars and store these at home. Please do not use on street or local bring site recycling points to dispose of your glass. We do not have the staff resources to empty these or clean up fly-tipped material.
Garden waste collections (brown bins)
Suspended. Please do not put your brown bin out. We understand the disappointment this will cause and at the moment, we cannot advise when the service will be running normally again.
We are working on how best to replace the collections affected, and will provide further information on this later.
Report a missed bin
Since normal scheduled collections are suspended, we cannot take reports of missed bins. Please do not present your bin for collection until advised to do so.
Collections of bulky waste items
Suspended. Existing bookings will be honoured where staffing allows. If you have booked a special uplift and we can’t collect it, we will let you know.
Household waste recycling centres
Closed. It will not be possible to book an appointment, and all existing bookings will be contacted by email to cancel.
Request and replacing bins and boxes
Repair and replacement of bins and boxes are suspended. Uplifts of any unwanted waste containers is also suspended.
Litter/ dogs bins and street cleansing
Please also note there will be no street cleansing activities including street sweeping and litter bin emptying. Please either use a bin that’s not full or take it home and double bag it to reduce smells.
Waste reporting and enquires
We have removed all online reporting for waste and cleansing as we are unable to carry out these services during the industrial action.
If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard, please phone and listen to the new options carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100, from Monday -Thursday 1000-1600 and Friday 1000-1500. After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.
You can also email waste@edinburgh.gov.uk with the specific location and details of the issue.
Please be mindful that staff working will be very busy and are all doing their best to deal with a lot of issues at this time.
UNISON, the largest union in local government, met yesterday to discuss COSLA’s latest 3.5% pay offer. The union unanimously agreed to reject this revised offer outright and voted overwhelmingly to continue with their strike plans in councils across Scotland.
UNISON rejected the offer as it has not sufficiently improved, falls far short of the Joint Trade Union’s claim (submitted in January) and falls far short of the current rate of inflation, which continues to rise.
The union also made the point that the offer falls far short of the offer made to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who have been offered a £1925 flat rate uplift, which equates to a 10.5% increase for those on the lowest wages.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON head of local government said:“This is another derisory pay offer. We are in a ridiculous position of both our employers and the Scottish Government agreeing this 3.5% pay offer is not nearly enough, but both are at logger heads about who should pay for it.
“Meanwhile council workers – over half earn less than £25k per year – are worrying about paying the bills. Inflation is predicted to rise to 13.5% and our members are offered a real-terms pay cut which will plunge more of them into debt.
“We have written to COSLA to tell them the strike continues in waste and recycling and we will confirm dates for strike action in schools and early years in the coming days.”
The City of Edinburgh Council has tweeted: ‘We’re expecting significant disruption to bin collections and street cleaning services due to strike action from Thursday 18 – Tuesday 30 August.
UNISON, the largest trade union in local government, yesterday served notice of strike action in eight local authorities.
The notices of action were served on Friday to Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.
Edinburgh will be the first city tobe hit by industrial action when the capital’s waste teams strike on Thursday.
These latest strike dates are part of a wider co-ordinated plan of industrial action by the three trade unions across local government following the recent conclusion of successful industrial action ballots. The dates that UNISON members in waste and recycling will walk out are the same as those chosen by the GMB for the same groups of workers. UNISON will provide strike dates for schools and early years workers in due course.
The move comes on the day that COSLA Leaders meet to discuss the pay for local government workers again following additional funding provided by the Scottish Government last week.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government said: “This is the first wave of strike action which will only escalate if a significantly improved pay offer is not forthcoming. Strike dates for schools and early years workers will be confirmed in the coming days.
“The responsibility for this action lies squarely with the Scottish Government and COSLA, neither of whom seem to have grasped the gravity of this situation. Inflation is projected to be as high as 13%, the cost of living crises is hitting people’s pockets now and yet local government workers still only have a 2% offer on the table, the lowest offer in the public sector. They have had months to sort this out but all we seem to get is dither and delay.
“Our understanding is that the money provided by the Scottish Government is half of what COSLA asked for and goes nowhere near matching the pay offer provided to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“If this is true then the Scottish Government and COSLA need to get back round the table and come up with a better plan or services will stop. The last thing UNISON members want is a strike but they have simply been left with no other option.”
Following a Special Meeting of council leaders convened on Friday, COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor @KatieHagmannSNP, said:
Thousands of council workers across Scotland have voted to take industrial action which will disrupt schools, early years centres, nurseries and waste and recycling centres across Scotland.
In the largest strike ballot amongst council workers in over a decade, UNISON members in all councils across Scotland overwhelmingly voted to reject the COSLA final pay offer of 2% with nine local authority branches exceeding the required 50% turnout threshold required by the Trade Union Act.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON head of local government said:“COSLA leaders meet on Friday and must put an improved offer on the table if we are to avoid large-scale disruption to council services across Scotland.
“Council workers south of the border yesterday were offered a flat rate uplift of £1925, which for those on the lowest pay equates to a 10.5% increase. You have to wonder why council workers north of the border have only been offered a measly 2% increase when the cost of living continues to spiral. UNISON have been calling for a flat rate payment to help those on lower incomes. Most council workers earn less than £25k per year.
“It is clear now that local government workers have had enough and are prepared to strike in the coming weeks unless we see a sensible offer, from COSLA, on the table on Friday.
“This is the largest strike ballot by local government workers in over a decade and the first-time workers across Scotland have voted to take strike action in these numbers. It really shouldn’t take this for them to receive the recognition, respect and reward that they deserve.”
