Glasgow bin strike: when will city council workers end industrial action - and when will my bins next be collected?

The industrial action comes as Edinburgh sanitation workers finish up with their strike this week on August 30.

Here’s everything you need to know about the strike by city council employees.

Why are city council cleansing workers striking?

Council workers have been on-strike in Edinburgh during the Fringe to negotiate an improved pay offer as part of a series of planned industrial strike action across Scotland.

Living Rent, Scotland’s tenants union, and GMB cleansing workers have been working together since December of 2020 calling for an improvement to working conditions and greater investment in current infrastructure.

According to GMB Scotland: “Glasgow’s cleansing workers are on strike over the local government pay offer, and their campaign has called for Scottish Government intervention to start reversing more than a decade of cuts to the service, and for the Council to respect and value them as key workers.”

An offer was made by the local authority body, Cosla, after an initial pay increase of 2% was rejected - a further 3.5% increase was offered but swiftly rejected by the striking union.

At a meeting on Monday, August 22, Unison unanimously agreed to reject the revised offer outright and voted overwhelmingly to continue with their strike plans at councils across Scotland.

When will the strike begin and how long will it run?

The strikes are set to begin in Glasgow tomorrow, August 24, through to September 1 - and then again a week later from September 7 to September 10.

Bin workers in Glasgow will return to work on September following 12 days of strike action as they consider new proposals from the council.

When will my bins next be collected?

During the strikes, households have been asked not to present their bins for kerbside collection - however if your scheduled collection days do not fall on strike dates then you will be able to present your bin for collection as normal.

Glasgow City Council has said that there might “be a delay in returning to normal collection schedules”.

The council have indicated that services will begin after September 10 - although their could be a delay in a return to regular services.

You can find your next scheduled collection on the Collection Days page of the council website here.

What should I do with my rubbish now?

Residents affected by the strike have been asked by the council ‘to minimise the amount of waste that you produce wherever possible, or compact it as much as you can.’

If bins for general waste become full, Glaswegians should store their waste at home if they can, according to the council.

If rubbish can’t be stored at home, citizens should double or triple bag their waste before placing it next to the general bins you use, either in a communal bin area or by your own home.

Using recycling bins for general waste should be avoided as this may lead to further delays in those bins being collected.