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Rubbish collection dispute in deadlock
as worries grow over public health
Mike Wade
Columnist: The Times
Filed 25 Jul 09
©Mike Wade
This article was originally published in The TImes on 24th July 2009.
It is reproduced here with the kind permission of its author and of the newspaper.
A bitter industrial dispute that has left the streets of Edinburgh strewn with rubbish appears certain to disrupt the city’s peak tourist season after talks broke down last night.
Negotiations between leaders of the city council and the trade union Unite failed to end a work-to-rule by refuse collectors or to allay fears of a strike. Workers are protesting against the proposed “modernisation” of wage policy, which they claim could reduce their wages by up to a third.
The impasse means that The Gathering — a showpiece event in the Year of Homecoming — will take place at Holyrood tomorrow with the nearby closes and wynds of the Royal Mile bulging with rubbish and bin bags scattered across the pavements. The Gathering is believed to have attracted 30,000 visitors to the capital, many for the first time, and tourism leaders are stricken by the effect that the dispute may have on Scotland’s image.
VisitScotland, the government-funded tourism agency, yesterday issued an apology to its membership and to staff at its visitor information centres for the “unpleasant scenes visitors have witnessed”. The agency said that it had received complaints, including concerns at the potential threat to public health.
Arts leaders fear that the dispute will not be resolved before the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe, which draws more than a million visitors to the city, starts next month.
The prospect that the dispute will escalate into a strike, along with the separate disruption caused by tram works that stretch for miles through the city centre, has created a sense of despair among civic leaders.
“The Lib Dem/SNP council has turned Edinburgh into a building site and a rubbish tip. At the height of the tourist season it is an embarrassment and a growing health hazard,” David McLetchie, the Conservative MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, said. “The council needs to get a grip. The binmen need to clear up the mess. If they won’t, then we must bring in outside contractors to clean up the streets of Edinburgh.”
Mark Lazarowicz, Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, warned of “growing and urgent public health concerns” and called for intervention from Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary. “The smell from bins which have not been emptied for some time now is increasingly noxious and there is an increased risk of vermin,” he said. “We need to see a resolution fast, and the SNP government must now intervene to solve this problem as Edinburgh council appears incapable of doing so.”
A spokesman for the Scottish government said that the issue was a matter for the city council and urged both sides to continue negotiations.
Steve Cardownie, the Deputy Lord Provost of Edinburgh, admitted that the dispute could harm the city’s image. “The administration cannot capitulate to the trades union just because it is the tourist season,” he said. “They have timed their action to bring pressure to bear on the council, but we cannot accede to their demands because the money is not there.
“If the streets get dirtier that is the price we have to pay. We hope visitors will recognise that this is the result of an industrial dispute — the city doesn’t always look like this.”
Refuse workers believe that under the council’s proposals their wages could fall by up to £6,000 a year. Council leaders strongly contest the claim and say that the new policy will standardise basic pay and shift allowances at the current wage of around £18,500.
“We presented proposals including improved shift payment and modernisation of working practices that would avoid refuse workers and street cleaners losing substantial amounts of money,” Mark Turley, the director of services for communities, said. “This proposal was in return for the trade union to call off the strike ballot and return to normal working immediately. They have refused to do this after almost five hours of talks.”
©Mike Wade
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