LOW-PAID cleansing and waste services workers across Scotland’s councils could walk out in the coming weeks after they voted to reject pay cuts.

A total of 23 of Scotland’s 32 councils have seen either GMB or Unite, or both unions win mandates for strike action as thousands of workers in waste services rejected a subinflation pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) of 2.2 per cent from April 1 to September 30 followed by 2 per cent in the following year.

The GMB won a ballot in 13 authorities, including Edinburgh, and the union’s senior organiser for public services, Keir Greenaway, has warned of a repeat of the 2022 dispute which saw rubbish pile-up during the Edinburgh Festivals.

He said: “We hear time and time again that Scotland does public services better, but that’s not the case when the Conservatives down south have already beaten Cosla’s offer.

“Hundreds of millions are poured into the city during the fringe, but political leaders claim they can’t find enough money to value front-line service workers.

“Council leaders have wasted months and they’ve wasted opportunities.

“Our members have no time for waste which is why rubbish will pile up in councils across Scotland if a suitable offer isn’t received.”

Their comrades in Unite meanwhile won ballots for strike in 16 local authorities, including the country’s largest, Glasgow.

Rejecting not only the pay offer, but Cosla’s decision to shift the dates for implementation of any pay deal from the traditional April to October as “kicking the can down the road,” Unite industrial officer Graham McNab said.

He stated: “Thousands of workers in cleansing and waste services are now on the brink of taking strike action in a matter of weeks.

“Our members are being left with no choice but to fight for fair pay. 

“Council workers deserve to be treated with respect but instead they received a pitiful pay offer which was rejected outright by Unite.

“This situation is entirely in the hands of Cosla and the Scottish government who can resolve this dispute at any moment by making a significantly improved pay offer.” 

A Cosla spokesperson said the firm respected the “unions’ role in seeking to obtain the best pay settlement they can,” but urged the union to reconsider the subinflation offer it described as “at the limits of affordability.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Local government pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities as employers and unions — the Scottish government has no formal role.”