Unions Reject Pay Offers, Warn of ‘Winter of Discontent’ in Scotland

Edinburgh's waste workers clearing mountains of rubbish at the Grassmarket as they return to work following their 11 days of industrial action, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Aug. 30, 2022. Lesley Martin/PA Media

Trade unions have rejected the Scottish government’s pay offers and threatened to escalate strike actions in an upcoming “winter of discontent.”

Authorities in the Scottish capital Edinburgh started a major clean-up operation on Tuesday, after nearly two weeks of industrial action by the city’s waste workers left huge piles of rubbish in many streets in the city centre.