The 2022 Scotland bin strike was a

labour strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became co ...

by bin workers across

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The workers, represented by the GMB were striking for a pay rise to match that being given to local government workers in the rest of the UK. The strikes began in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

but spread to other parts of Scotland, affecting 20 of Scotland's 32 council areas.

Events

On 18 August, and following a pay dispute with

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the national association of Scottish councils and acts as an employers' association for its 32 member authorities. History Formed in 1975, COSLA exists to promote and protect the int ...

(COSLA), refuse workers belonging to the Unison, Unite and GMB trade unions launched industrial action in Edinburgh. The 12-day strike began as the city played host to the 2022

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

. The walkout ended at 04:59 on 30 August. The trade unions stated the main reason for strike was due to the UK cost of living crisis. Residents in

were told by

Edinburgh City Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

to keep all rubbish indoors. On 29 August, GMB rejected the offer proposed by the

. According to the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

, the deal included a payment of at least £1,925 for council staff, with those earning £20,000 receiving £2,000. On 1 September,

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

met with council leaders and trade union leaders to resolve the dispute. On 2 September, the strikes were called off by the three unions involved after a 10% pay deal was agreed upon. Sturgeon had previously been criticised for attending Edinburgh Festival events while the strike was ongoing.

Health warning

A health warning was declared by Public Health Scotland due to the build-up of rubbish in urban areas. They also called on

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

to deep clean public areas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotland bin strikes, 2022 2022 labor disputes and strikes 2022 in Scotland 2020s in Edinburgh August 2022 in the United Kingdom September 2022 in the United Kingdom Labour disputes in Scotland Labour disputes in the United Kingdom Nicola Sturgeon

Events

Health warning

See also

References