London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025

Sturgeon accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ over bin strike

Sturgeon accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ over bin strike

Scottish Tories call for first minister to focus on pay dispute that now threatens early closures of schools
Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of favouring foreign trips and book festival appearances over resolving an ongoing industrial dispute that had led to rubbish piled high on the streets of Scotland’s major cities.

Talks are resuming on Friday to resolve the strikes that have left bins overflowing and piles of food waste accumulating in Edinburgh, where crowds have gathered for the August festivals.

Refuse workers in Scotland’s capital are midway through a two-week strike, as part of an almost nationwide pay dispute with local authorities, while staff across more local authorities took industrial action on Wednesday and others joined them on Friday, affecting cities including Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee as well as rural areas including the Highlands, Orkney and Angus.

With unions planning up to eight more days of strikes to waste services in the September, Glasgow city council announced that all primary schools, additional support needs facilities and nurseries would shut across three days early next month because of industrial action by cleaning, janitorial, catering and pupil support workers, with more councils expected to follow.

As the first minister travelled to Copenhagen on Friday to officially open the Scottish government’s Nordic office, opposition politicians questioned her commitment to resolving the disputes after she made a number of appearances at the Edinburgh festivals, with plans to interview Succession actor Brian Cox on Monday.

Sharon Dowey, the shadow minister for culture, Europe and international development for the Scottish Conservatives, said: “Once again, Nicola Sturgeon’s been caught asleep at the country’s wheel while rubbish is piling up on streets across the country.

“It’s ridiculous that she has chosen this moment to go gallivanting around northern Europe before nipping back for a spot of self-promotion at Edinburgh’s book festival. The SNP government’s role is to ensure the country runs smoothly and efficiently.”

Scottish Labour’s business manager, Neil Bibby, added: “It’s no wonder Nicola Sturgeon wants a break from Scotland’s litter-strewn streets, but most Scots don’t have that luxury. Whether she’s in Scotland or abroad, she has been missing in action this entire cost of living crisis.

“The first minister needs to fund councils properly and secure a fair deal for council workers and bring an end to this chaos, as well as using the powers she has to help Scots struggling with soaring bills.”

The three unions, Unison, Unite and GMB, have accused the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), the SNP-led umbrella group for Scotland’s 32 councils, of failing to grasp the severity of the cost of living crisis. They are urging councils to agree to a £3,000 flat-rate pay award, which they argue would significantly help lower-paid workers, rather than a percentage increase that would unfairly benefit highest paid staff.

Unite industrial officer Wendy Dunsmore said the action was a direct response to failures by Cosla and the Scottish government to appreciate the gravity of the disputes.

She said: “Unite will now deepen and spread our strike action across two thirds of the country. It’s a disgrace that schools and early years services now face closure causing further disruption to families. The politicians need to get a grip of this situation which they have let happen due to their politicking and stalling.”

While the dispute centres on local government, union officials say the Scottish government must take more responsibility for the impact of its council funding cuts. Unite officials suggested on Wednesday that the deputy first minister, John Swinney, who recently gave councils an extra £140m to help fund a better pay offer, was engaging with Cosla about ending some ringfencing to free up more funds for an improved deal.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland, announced on Thursday its intention to ballot members on strike action after rejecting a 5% pay offer from Cosla.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
×