TRADE unionists have raised concerns about further cuts to public services in Edinburgh, warning that city council staff are “firefighting to keep services running.”

Unison’s Edinburgh branch warned that budget cuts discussed today could leave services on the brink of collapse and urged council decision-makers to value staff. 

Over the past decade, cuts to the council budget over the past decade have led to hundreds of job losses and the closure of third-sector organisations. 

The calls coincide with Unison’s Plug the Gap campaign, backed by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), for government action to bridge the £1 billion council funding gap. 

Edinburgh branch secretary Tom Connolly said: “Local government is at the point of collapse and the Scottish and UK governments have done very little to prevent its demise while at the same time, due to Covid-19, asking it to do more.

“The continuing underfunding can have a serious impact on the effectiveness of the services being provided.”