Bin collections could be cancelled across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands in August as council workers vote to strike.
Unite the Union confirmed staff from 26 councils across Scotland will strike, calling a 2% pay rise offer “derisory”.
This means thousands of local government workers in waste and schools will walk out, with a firm strike date coming next week.
In Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands, only waste services will be affected by Unite strike action, not education services.
This includes bin men and road sweepers, which could lead to uncollected bins on strike days and increased debris on the roads across these areas.
However, a separate Unison strike could affect schools in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Orkney and Western Isles waste service workers were not balloted by Unite, but will be affected by the union’s schools strike.
Unite says that refuse and cleaning service workers will likely strike in mid-August, with major disruption to schools coming in early September.
Five council areas in the north and north-east will be affected. Moray and Shetland have not been included on Unite’s list.
Cosla made an offer of 2% for council workers, however, Unite has said repeatedly that this is “unacceptable”.
‘Reward workers who kept us going through pandemic’
They are demanding that council leaders fight harder for a fairer share for local government workers.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The message for both the Scottish Government and Cosla is crystal clear: thousands upon thousands of members won’t tolerate real terms pay cuts anymore, and they have had enough.
“Our members are being forced to take this action due to a derisory pay offer, and we will support them in this fight for better jobs, pay and conditions in local government.”
It was reported that more than half of Scotland’s 250,000 council workers earn less than £25,000 a year for a 37-hour week.
Negotiations continue for pay deal
Johanna Baxter, head of local government at Unison Scotland told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, said: “Cosla and the Scottish government need to do something much better than 2% to appropriately reward these workers because they’re the ones who kept us going throughout the entire period of the pandemic.”
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “This is a matter for Scottish local authority body Cosla.
“The pay settlement will be determined through negotiations at the Scottish Joint Committee, a process which is ongoing. Aberdeen City Council hopes the situation can be quickly resolved in the interests of staff, services and residents.”
Highland Council has confirmed it has received strike notice action notices from the Unite and GMB unions.
A spokeswoman said: “This ballot gives a mandate for the two unions to call out their members in these specific service areas, which is likely to have an impact on services to the public, although the actual impact will not be known until further information is received from the unions.
“The earliest action could take place is mid-August and the council will keep members of the public informed of temporary disruption to service delivery. There will be no impact on schools.”
A Cosla spokeswoman said: “Cosla leaders are clear that they value hugely the local government workforce, which is why discussions with our trade union colleagues continue, in order to reach an agreement and avoid strike action.
“As employers we have a responsibility to ensure that any pay deal offered is both sustainable and affordable and that is why we are unable to go beyond the current offer at this point.
“As mandated by leaders, we are currently in discussions with Scottish Government and await their response to leaders’ request for additional funding.”
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