Monday August 5th 2024
GMB, Unison and Unite members voted to take industrial action in 26 of Scotland’s 32 councils after rejecting a pay deal from council body COSLA. Midlothian is among councils to be affected by the planned industrial action due to commence on 14th August and continue until Thursday 22nd August. The planned strikes will disrupt waste, street cleaning and recycling services in Midlothian.
The council has announced that during the industrial action the following will happen:
• All household waste and recycling collection will be suspended.
• Garden waste collections will not operate. Information on any alternative collections of brown bins will be made at a later date.
• Stobhill and Peniciuk Recycling Centres will close.
• The emptying of litter and dog waste bins will be suspended, along with street cleaning activities.
Services will resume as soon as possible following the end of action, with a recovery plan put in place and communicated. If your bin is due to be collected on a strike day, it will be emptied on its next scheduled collection day, provided this does not coincide with further industrial action. Residents and businesses are asked to safely and responsibly store their waste until it is in a position to be collected again.
While the council has been formally notified of the intended strikes, there is also the possibility that through ongoing negotiations these may not take place.
Midlothian Council Leader Kelly Parry said:
“The lack of consensus on a pay deal everyone can live with is obviously concerning and disappointing, and we had hoped these strikes could be avoided. We’re acutely conscious of how disruptive and challenging this is going to be for everyone, and I’d urge residents and businesses to be patient as a resolution is sought.
“We also know that talks are ongoing and that things can change. We value the contribution of our waste and recycling colleagues very highly, and we want to see them compensated equitably, so from our perspective it’s vital that a solution to the current situation is reached as quickly as possible.
“In the meantime, I’d like to reassure all of our residents that while action continues, we’ll be working hard to ensure the effect on essential services is minimised as far as possible.”
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