Missed bin collections across Edinburgh have been blamed on a group of rogue litter pickers who have taken industrial action as council bosses warn staff against refusing to pick up litter from pavements or working overtime.
A growing number of overfilled bins have been reported in recent weeks due to delays in waste collection in the capital.
The local authority suspended all collection of blue box glass for a week yesterday to prioritize building household waste and other recycling.
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The union claimed the disruption was due to workers having to start their morning runs an hour later following recent complaints about the noise of glass collections from controversial new “bins” installed outside the flats.
And Unite City Council’s Edinburgh branch disputed claims that litter pickers were taking part in a “work for the government” action.
But it warned that growing discontent among its members could make “bin strike number two” – a repeat of litter piling up on the capital’s streets during summer festivals, as happened in 2022 – even more likely as unions prepare to vote thousands of members. across Scotland amid a pay dispute.
It is understood that the recent missed collections were the result of action by a “relatively small group of staff”.
The source said the union had “made it clear that this was not sanctioned by them”, adding that managers were “addressing these performance and behavioral issues to ensure that service returns to normal as quickly as possible”.
In a letter seen by Local Democracy Reporting Service, the head of local environmental services, Andy Williams, said that “recent suggestions and/or comments from a small number of staff that the routes will not be completed, the secondary wastes will not be completed. and refusing to work overtime where it is offered.
“These actions could be considered a Short of Strike action and potentially a breach of your contract. This could have very serious consequences.”
Mr Williams, who sent a letter to workers at the town’s Seafield depot last week, said he was also “led to believe that some staff have shown a willingness to work overtime but are being bullied and intimidated into not doing so”.
He said “task and finish” – where waste collectors stop after completing their assigned routes – “was ordered to end many years ago and consistent messages were sent that all staff were expected to work their full contract time”.
He added: “Staff are asked to only collect one bin and only cross the road where it is safe to do so.”
The decision to cancel the task and complete the measure, which means staff now have to return to warehouses to be released, whereas previously they could be dropped off closer to their homes after the collection was finished, has contributed to anger among staff at the lack of flexibility on the part of refusal managers, it is understood.
Graeme Smith, convenor of Unite’s City of Edinburgh Council Branch, said: “One of the reasons many routes are delayed is because the routes start an hour later, this is a result of the number of noise complaints the council receives. reception and a lot of problems around collecting glass early in the morning.’
He said it was “an excuse managers give for the keys being withheld and the routes starting later”.
Unite, Scotland’s biggest trade union, today announced it will vote thousands of its members across the country next month over a pay dispute with local government umbrella organisation, Cosla. If workers vote in favour, then industrial action “could start from July with major events likely to be affected over the summer, including international and fringe festivals in Edinburgh”, the union said.
Mr Smith said: “We are looking at basket two.
“Dissatisfaction within [Edinburgh] the workforce will simply become more passionate about industrial action over pay.
“Everything that’s going on is localized, but we’ve had more opportunities to talk to people and people are now unhappy about how they’ve been treated. That works for us because it means when they get a ballot through the door, we tick them off box and we’ll send it.”