Highlands set for lengthy bin strike - find out when and for how long.

Bins will go unemptied from the smallest villages to the biggest cities, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, where the Fringe and International Festival starts this weekend.

The industrial action comes after pay talks with Cosla, representing the 18 councils set to be impacted across Scotland, stalled.

Cosla described the deal – which would have seen workers receive a blanket 3.2 per cent rise for a one-year period between April 1 this year and March 31 2025 – as "strong, fair and credible".

The Scottish Government joined negotiations on July 30. Following that meeting, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Shona Robison MSP, said: “The meeting with union leaders and COSLA was productive and I want to thank all the parties involved for their valuable input.

“While this wasn’t a negotiating forum – as the Scottish Government has no formal role in local pay negotiations – we absolutely recognise the importance of supporting meaningful dialogue to reach a fair pay deal and avoid industrial action.

“We are navigating turbulent financial waters. This week’s statement from the Chancellor revealed the extent of the challenges facing the public sector across the UK. What is particularly worrying is that in her statement the Chancellor announced she is not fully funding the public sector pay deals she has accepted. Instead, cuts are being demanded across most of Whitehall. That means that we will not receive full Barnett consequentials from these pay deals.

“It is amid this extremely challenging landscape then, that I have asked my officials to work at pace with local government officers to understand what an improved negotiating envelope may look like. I welcomed the willingness of COSLA and trade union leaders to engage constructively with that process.”

But the next day, Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said a rejected pay offer of 3.2 per cent had failed to match the escalating cost of living or the rise offered to council workers in England and Wales.