WORKERS in Wee County waste services joined colleagues from eight other councils as they went on strike for fair pay.

Forthbank Household Waste Recycling Centre was closed for four days while bin collections were also halted in an ongoing dispute with COSLA.

The strikes, held across August 26-29, could be followed by further industrial action early in September while UNISON members in schools and nurseries could also walk out.

Speaking at the picket line on Friday, Pamela Robertson, branch secretary at Clackmannanshire UNISON, told the Advertiser: "We are out here for a decent pay rise.

"The talks have been ongoing for eight months, employers have only met us a couple of times in that eight months."

Workers in Clacks joined colleagues in eight other council areas for the strike, 94 per cent of local members having voted to take action.

Pam added: "The feelings are very strong among the staff for getting a decent pay.

"We've had a lot of support, a lot of members phoning up, my fingers are just about worn down from answering emails – people are really anxious to do what needs to be done."

There was a good turnout on the day with hopes that taking action will lead to change.

Adrian Moore, local organiser, was also at the gates to Forthbank.

He said: "There's such a clear difference compared to other years in terms of how motivated people are to take action to get better pay.

"With about a decade of below inflationary pay rises, the cost of living [crisis] has just put it at the forefront of everybody's minds; enough is enough.

"The tide is rising pretty fast these days, what's the energy price rise going to be tomorrow?"

School and early years staff in UNISON have also announced strikes for September 6-8.

Looking ahead, Pam said: "I think they are quite desperate for the schools not to be coming out, UNISON has a huge amount of members in schools. Particularly nurseries; nurseries cannot open without UNISON members."

While the strikes caused disruption with the Wee County's recycling centre closed for a full four days and bin collections halted, the branch secretary said members of the public have been supportive.

She said: "Even in my own private life, people are coming to you saying 'well done, just keep it going – this is what we need to be doing'."

Adrian continued: "The understanding is incredible, people understand that if we are here, it will help them as well.

"This isn't about one group of workers getting more than any other, it's about workers getting enough wages to survive the cost of living crisis."

The Advertiser has approached COSLA for a fresh comment.

Speaking on Wednesday, August 24, the local government umbrella body's resources spokesperson, Cllr Katie Hagmann, explained council leaders consistently said they are grateful to the workforce.

She added: "That is why we as employers have done everything possible to put the best offer we can to them in the context of the extremely challenging financial circumstances Scotland's councils have been and are continuing to face."

The talks continued on Monday, but trade unions which also include Unite rejected the latest offer, following days of intense negotiations and after the Scottish Government offered an additional £140m to councils to help fund a pay increase.

It is understood the revised offer included a minimum pay uplift of £1,925 to match the offer made to workers south of the border.

However, trade unions said only part of this payment would be consolidated into ongoing pay and the rest would come in one-off payments.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government, said: "UNISON’s local government committee met this morning and confirmed that strike action will continue while we consult our members on this latest offer.

"Council workers are struggling to cope with the cost-of-living crisis after ten years of austerity. This is another pay cut they simply cannot afford, which is why we are recommending they reject the offer and continue with the action already planned to try to secure a bigger consolidated sum.”