No bin strike deal yet as talks continue

Talks to end a wave of bin strikes affecting two thirds of Scotland's council areas have yet to reach an agreement.

Negotiations between councils and unions continued late into Friday night after a second day of talks.

It is understood discussions are focusing on a new deal for the lowest-paid workers.

BBC Scotland has been told that no deal is imminent but "slow progress" is being made.

Council leaders are said to be discussing what kind of offer they could afford.

Unions are seeking an agreement similar to the one made to council workers in England.

That deal included a £1,925 flat rate pay offer, which the union said would benefit the lowest paid the most.

BBC Scotland correspondent Jamie McIvor said the fact that negotiations were continuing was a positive sign in itself.

He added: "There is the possibility of talks continuing into the weekend or Monday.

"The councils are very sympathetic to the claims being made by the unions, they understand the cost of living crisis and what that means for so many of their staff.

"It is that question of what councils can actually afford to pay, even with the extra £140m they have been given by the Scottish government."

Council body Cosla said the Unite, Unison and GMB unions had rejected an offer earlier this week that would have meant the lowest paid 12% of council workers would get a pay increase of more than 5%.

It has also said the latest pay offer amounted to "one of, if not the best offer in decades for Scottish local government workers" with some workers getting an overall 7.36% increase.

Unions have called for more funding from the Scottish government to pay for an improved offer and rejected a request to suspend the strikes while further negotiations were held.

Refuse workers in Edinburgh are more than halfway through a two-week strike that has left bins overflowing and rubbish piled high on many streets of the capital.

People living in flats have been told to keep their rubbish at home rather than putting it out in the street.

Staff in a further 20 council areas are also now on strike, with the industrial action due to continue until the middle of next week.

Further bin strikes are due to be held in many areas early next month, with schools and nurseries also due to be hit by industrial action.

Charity groups and local businesses are attempting to clear some of the mess in Edinburgh city centre.

James David Lee, a member of staff at Biddy Mulligan's pub in the Grassmarket area, said he and his colleagues had taken to cleaning up the mess nine days into the strike.

He said: "It's got so bad now and it's outside our work so we are cleaning it up.

"We take pride in our work and we don't like to see the outside of our pub looking like this.

"Something we have seen is the disappearance of performers due to the bins overflowing. Normally the Grassmarket would be full of performers and jugglers."

Fellow bar worker Megan Alexander, added: "I'm finding this disgusting work. It's certainly not our job. I feel a bit upset about it all.

"Our neighbour who runs an ice-cream shop has had to close due to the rubbish.

"His queue is normally way down the Grassmarket. It's terrible he's had to close due to the bins."

The bar workers said once they had bagged up all rubbish outside the pub they hoped their private refuse collection company would collect it.

Meanwhile, a religious group has said it will be putting 30 trade bins in five locations across Edinburgh city centre, which will be filled and then removed by its volunteers.

A spokesman for the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church said: "We are working with a local contractor with permission from Edinburgh City Council and once filled the bins will be collected and the waste disposed of and the bins replaced.

"We see this as an ongoing operation until a satisfactory pay resolution is reached."

Trade unions have argued the church's Rapid Relief Team's volunteers should put their energies elsewhere.

A GMB Scotland spokesman said: "We'd much rather these volunteers back our members' struggle for a pay increase that confronts this cost-of-living crisis, so we can tackle the spread of working poverty among Scotland's key workers."

Deputy First Minister John Swinney described the bin situation in Edinburgh earlier this week as already being "deeply concerning" for public health, with visitors to the city's arts festival speaking of their shock at the piles of waste lying next to overflowing public bins.

He said the latest round of talks were aimed at ensuring there was "intense dialogue" around resolving the dispute, adding: "I do hope that leads to substantive progress."