Edinburgh bin strike: GMB union serves formal notice on council of eight-day walk-out from August 14

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The union with the most members among Edinburgh’s waste and recycling workforce today served formal notice that an eight-day bin strike will begin on August 14.

The GMB confirmed the walk-out following inconclusive talks with Finance Secretary Shona Robison and council umbrella body Cosla on Tuesday. Ms Robison described the meeting as ‘productive’ and union sources called it ‘positive’ but it did not lead to any settlement.

Rubbish piled up in the streets during a bin strike in Edinburgh in August 2022.  Picture: Lisa FergusonRubbish piled up in the streets during a bin strike in Edinburgh in August 2022.  Picture: Lisa Ferguson
Rubbish piled up in the streets during a bin strike in Edinburgh in August 2022. Picture: Lisa Ferguson | TSPL

It said bins would go unemptied from the smallest villages to the biggest cities, including Edinburgh, where the Fringe and International Festival start this weekend.

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GMB Scotland senior organiser Keir Greenaway said a rejected pay offer of 3.2 per cent had failed to match the escalating cost of living or the rise offered to council workers in England and Wales.

He said: “We had constructive talks with the Scottish Government and Cosla yesterday but our members are less interested in constructive talks than fair pay. The process has gone on too long with too little progress.

"We are more than halfway through the year and there is no more time to waste discussing old offers with new wrapping. Enough is enough. Industrial action will start in two weeks unless ministers and local authorities identify the money needed to make an acceptable offer.

“These strikes will be disruptive to all the Scots who rely on our members' work but would not be necessary if councils had shown a greater urgency and sense of realism.”

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If there is no resolution, GMB members in waste services will walk out at 5am on Wednesday August 14 and resume work from 4.59am on Thursday August 22. The strike will involve Midlothian and West Lothian as well as Edinburgh and a number of other authorities across Scotland.

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