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

theguardian.com:

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