As an Edinburgh resident myself, I understand. Trade unions want to negotiate an acceptable pay deal. Despite submitting our pay claim in January, it took Council Leaders until May to respond.
Since then, no meaningful talks have taken place between Council Leaders and trade unions leaving workers without a much-needed pay rise. All while the Scottish Government refuses to come to the table to fund an improved offer. Residents only have to live with this disruption for as long as the strike action lasts.
Our members in waste have to work under stretched services doing backbreaking work for low pay all year round. They are not taking strike action without a sacrifice of their own. Every day our members strike, they lose a day’s pay.
Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to our Opinion newsletter Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Businesses have just endured an arduous cost-of-living crisis which has pushed many to the brink and others to close. Those same pressures you felt are being felt by our members.
They have been given below inflation pay rises for years despite the work they did during the pandemic to protect public health. Whilst many worked from home, they were not furloughed. Their office was Edinburgh’s streets, backcourts and waste depots.
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