Cleaning staff at more than half of Scotland’s councils could go on strike within weeks after a second union announced members have backed a walkout.

Unite said its members at 16 of Scotland’s 32 councils have backed strike action in cleaning and waste services in a pay row.

On Monday, the GMB announced members at 13 councils backed a strike.

Unite said the details of strikes involving waste workers, street cleaners and recycling centre operators would be announced in the coming days and could begin in around two weeks.

The unions warned the action could lead to rubbish piling up in Edinburgh during the festival in a repeat of the 2022 bin strike.

Both unions rejected the last pay deal from Cosla in May, which the council umbrella body said was a “strong offer at the limits of affordability”.

Graham McNab, Unite industrial officer, said: “Thousands of workers in cleansing and waste services are now on the brink of taking strike action in a matter of weeks. Our members are being left with no choice but to fight for fair pay.”

“Council workers deserve to be treated with respect but instead they received a pitiful pay offer which was rejected outright by Unite.

“This situation is entirely in the hands of Cosla and the Scottish Government, who can resolve this dispute at any moment by making a significantly improved pay offer.”

As well as in the Scottish capital, both unions said they have strike mandates from waste workers in Aberdeen, East Ayrshire, Fife, North Lanarkshire and Inverclyde local authorities.

Unite also claimed mandates in Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Highland, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire and West Lothian.

GMB said waste workers in Aberdeenshire, South Lanarkshire, Midlothian, East Dunbartonshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, and Stirling council areas have also backed strike action.

An overflowing bin, with rubbish strewn across the ground
A strike by cleansing workers two years ago left the streets of Edinburgh strewn with rubbish during festival season (PA)

GMB earlier said Cosla is “counting down the clock” on pay talks, and accused it of “blocking” Scottish Government intervention in the dispute.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser for public services, said: “Council leaders have wasted months and they’ve wasted opportunities. Our members have no time for waste, which is why rubbish will pile up in councils across Scotland if a suitable offer isn’t received. We have no interest in political games when so many are struggling.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Local government pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities as employers and unions – the Scottish Government has no formal role.

“The Scottish Government urges all parties involved to work together constructively and reach an agreement which is fair for the workforce and affordable for employers.”

A Cosla spokesperson said: “Cosla has made a strong offer at the limits of affordability for councils, a position reiterated by council leaders at their meeting last Friday.

“In the context of lowering inflation and a ‘flat cash’ budget settlement from Scottish Government, it remains important to reward our valued workforce appropriately. We urge our unions to reconsider their decision to reject the offer.

“We are disappointed that industrial action is now being planned by some of our trade unions in some council areas and concerned that it is to be targeted at waste services, once again raising potential public health risks.

“We respect our unions’ role in seeking to obtain the best pay settlement they can for their members. We reiterate that we remain committed to doing the best by our workforce who deliver essential local services in every community across Scotland.”