Unions to decide whether to call off bin strike

Cosla made the new offer on Friday after the Scottish government found more money to help councils pay for it.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison warned it was at the “absolute limit of affordability”.

The unions had previously been offered a 3.2% rise, backdated to April.

On Sunday, one government minister said she was “quietly hopeful” the offer would be sufficient to resolve the dispute.

Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart told BBC Radio Scotland’s The Sunday Show: “The negotiations, I believe, have been very constructive.

“The Scottish government doesn’t have a formal role to play in this – it is up to the unions and to Cosla.

“It is at quite a delicate stage – I know the unions are considering that increased offer and are going to make a decision on whether they put that to their members.”

Two years ago a 12-day strike by refuse workers saw litter building up in the streets, particularly in Edinburgh where the city was hosting its summer festivals.

Public Health Scotland was forced to declare a health warning due to an accumulation of waste in urban areas.

The dispute was eventually resolved in early September, but only after an intervention from then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon.