Edinburgh’s streets are covered in overflowing trash bins, takeout boxes, and food cartons this morning due to the rain.
The planned bin strike is just halfway through, but it has already had a significant impact on the Scottish capital.
Photographs taken close to Waverley station depict people navigating the chaos to get their trains.
The strike, which is being carried out by members of the Unite and GMB unions, began last Thursday and is scheduled to end next Tuesday.
As part of the initiative, recycling facilities have also been closed, and residents have been urged to deposit their trash at home.
As soon as the strike is finished, the City of Edinburgh Council has guaranteed that everything will be resolved.
The umbrella organization for Scottish local authorities, Cosla, has already rejected pay offers of 2% and increased 3.5%.
Last week, inflation increased to 10.1%.
After Cosla presented a revised proposal that would see an increase of 8% or 9% for lower-paid workers and a smaller increase for staff on higher pay, it is hoped that a settlement will be reached before the strike ends.
Unite’s industrial officer, Alison Maclean, stated: “Cosla took more than five months to produce an offer that we can forward to our members for consideration.
While the 5% offer is a step in the right direction, it’s crucial to note that it comes at a time when overall inflation has now reached a 40-year high of 12.3% (per the Retail Prices Index).
The local government committee of Unite will quickly evaluate this most recent proposal. The scheduled strikes for the coming week are still going on as planned.
Senior organizer for GMB Scotland, Keir Greenaway, stated: “The notion of a flat-rate award is a major demand of the trade union pay claim. Our local government committee will review the most recent suggestions.”
The largest monetary increases must go to the lowest paid for any plan to be regarded worthy of our members’ full consultation.
The Federation of Small Businesses’ Garry Clark worries about the effects this will have on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is making its full return after the Covid-19 outbreak.
He explained, “It’s our store window to the globe.” Edinburgh is now open again. People should not be discouraged from spending time outside by the amount of trash, which is what we want to promote.
