Footage shows Edinburgh streets overflowing with rubbish after refuse workers decided to move forward with their 11-day strike following union rejection of the formal pay offer of a 3.5 per cent rise.
On a busy month for the capital, local bin collection workers resorted to strike action starting with a picket outside the Seafield Recycling Centre yesterday, August 18. Now, only 24 hours into a potentially lengthy period of industrial actions, the city is beginning to see the impact.
READ MORE: Edinburgh mums share bin strike advice to minimise waste during industrial action
In a video posted on Twitter by the @our_edinburgh account, the capital's central streets can be seen swamped with litter and huge rubbish bins overflown with waste bags stacked by their sides.
The strike, organised by Unite and GMB, comes as unions representing council workers across Scotland threaten industrial action over pay. The union rejected the formal offer from COSLA of a 3.5 per cent pay increase.
The workers are expected to strike until the day after the end of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and International Festival, August 30. Further industrial actions are anticipated in the period from September 7 to 10.
Earlier this week, the City of Edinburgh Council warned the locals of the disruption to the bin collection services and said: "We're expecting significant disruption to all waste, recycling and street cleaning services between 18 and 30 August due to strike action by Unite the Union and GMB members.
"We understand the impact and inconvenience this will cause you and appreciate your patience and understanding. We're developing a detailed recovery plan so the clean-up can begin immediately following the strike."
It has advised the public to check its website for updates regarding when collections will restart in each area of the city.
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