Edinburgh bin strike: Fringe organisers fear loss of vital sponsorship funding if rubbish piles up in streets

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A bin strike could lose the Edinburgh Festival Fringe vital sponsorship funding, organisers of the Capital's annual arts extravaganza fear.

The Fringe Society has urged the Scottish Government, local authority umbrella body Cosla and the city council to resolve the pay dispute which could result in a walk-out during August.

Overflowing bin on Edinburgh's Royal Mile during Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022.   Picture: Katielee ArrowsmithOverflowing bin on Edinburgh's Royal Mile during Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022.   Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith
Overflowing bin on Edinburgh's Royal Mile during Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022. Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith

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Fringe chief executive Shona McCarthy called for a collective effort to ensure the city looked “amazing and beautiful” as Festival season gets under way.

Council chiefs are keen to avoid a repeat of August 2022, when waste and recycling staff went on strike for 12 days and rubbish piled up in the streets during Edinburgh's busiest time of year for visitors.

But unions have warned of  a “stinking Scottish summer” unless the current 3.2 per cent pay offer is improved.

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Ms McCarthy told the Evening News' sister paper The Scotsman: “These things are outwith our control. To some extent, it’s futile for us to get stressed about them, because we have no influence and no control over them.

“We also completely support the right of workers to engage in collective action.  But we’d really like Cosla, the city council and the Scottish Government to get around the table.

“We want people to come to this city and we the residents of this city to enjoy their festival and be proud of the place. You really want the city to be putting its best foot forward.

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"This is a moment when the eyes of the world's media tend to be on this city for an entire month. Let's make it look amazing and look beautiful.”

Deputy chief executive Lyndsey Jackson added: “Our festival and venue colleagues would probably feel the same thing –  that it’s very difficult when there is limited public investment and we're encouraged to seek private investment and bring sponsors on board to encourage them to do a walk-round of the city that doesn’t look at its best.

“The real challenge is being able to pitch what we have to people who may invest in a way that keeps the Fringe as the great employer and economic contributor that it is. All of us want to be able to show the festival off in its best light.”

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The Fringe Society’s plea for a resolution of the dispute comes just days after leading business and tourism groups published an open letter voicing “disappointment and frustration” at the prospect of a bin strike during the Festival.

The letter was signed by the Scottish Tourism Alliance, the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions, the Scottish Independent Tour Operators Association, the Scottish Retail Consortium and the Scottish Licensed Trade Association.

It said: “Every summer, Edinburgh is the centre of the world for arts and culture, with the various festivals attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. Our city is on the world stage and the festival season provides an opportunity for Edinburgh and the Lothians to cement and enhance its standing as a global destination.

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“Unfortunately, as the dispute has developed, the impact and damage on business and the public including visitors appears to have been absent from any discussion between the parties involved.

“Government at all levels have allowed this dispute to develop, providing the unions with the opportunity once again to target the festivals, without any concern for the detrimental impact it could cause, whether economic, social or in terms of the public health risk.”

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