Scotland could be about to have a striking sense of déjà vu as refuse collection workers in most councils are due to begin industrial action next week. Members of the GMB, Unison and Unite unions have rejected the latest pay offer from their employers via the association of local authorities, called Cosla.

So far, it’s a replay of what happened exactly two years ago. What could follow is stinking piles of rubbish building up on the streets, leading to the leverage needed to gain an acceptable pay rise.

Later in 2022, RMT union members at ScotRail also went on strike over pay. In 2024, strike action by the RMT and the other Aslef, TSSA and Unite union members at ScotRail is again on the cards, again over pay.

Mid-2022 was dubbed by some as the "summer of solidarity" because workers widely united and mobilised together in defence of their living standards during an unprecedent cost of living crisis. This led to the biggest uptick in strike action in Britain since the late 1980s. From that August in 2022 until May this year, some 5.2m days have not been worked due to strikes.

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Understandably, strike action hits the headlines in the press and media. Often disruptive, it is certainly newsworthy. The strikes from 2022 onwards have been one of the biggest new stories in recent years. They have featured doctors, nurses, teachers, civil servants, bus drivers, barristers and bin workers........

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