Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland is fast accumulating piles of garbage on its street, as the 12-day strike action by the city’s waste workers unions continues on day five.
The city’s refuse workers started a 12-day strike last week in an attempt to force Scottish council leaders to improve on a “derisory” 3% pay offer, with the industrial action timed to hit Edinburgh’s fringe and arts festivals, when visitor numbers peak in the city centre.
In what is “usually” attributed to third world countries, the streets of Edinburgh has seen wastes pile up, as he residents are being asked to keep their rubbish inside. UK media has reported that scenes of overflowing bin were spreading from the city center to residential areas.
There are warnings that Edinburgh faces a sharp increase in rat infestations after a refuse workers’ strike resulted in mountains of food waste, overflowing bins and rubbish accumulating in the city centre.
Terry Levinthal, the director of the Cockburn Association, which champions the city’s architectural heritage, told the BBC he feared the piles of rubbish and overflowing bins would cause a human health problem – a worry backed up by pest control experts.
Seagulls, rats and mice were already a problem. “We’ll see, as a result of it, that in a few weeks’ time there will be a massive expansion in the population of vermin because there is just so much food on offer,” said Levinthal.
Public sector unions held a further round of talks with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), the umbrella body for the country’s 32 councils, to firm up a new 5% pay offer tabled on Monday. Refuse workers’ strikes are due to spread to other areas, with nursery and school workers taking part early next month.
The Guardian UK reported that with Edinburgh city centre thronging with festivalgoers, tourists and residents, the strike has left some pavements covered in slicks of food waste, with takeaway food boxes heaped against overflowing bins, bin bags torn open and fringe flyers and food containers filling gutters.
Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the highest courts in Scotland.
It is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, and the city’s historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK’s second-most visited tourist destination attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas in 2018.
Latest data puts the 2021 population of Edinburgh at 488,050.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
