Nicola Sturgeon has told councils the Scottish Government does not have a “bottomless pit of money” to resolve a strike by local government workers that has seen rubbish pile up in the streets of Edinburgh and is now set to close schools.
The First Minister insists she wants to “see the fairest possible pay deal delivered to public sector workers in very difficult times” and also wants “to see industrial action avoided”.
But she said the “Scottish Government has a finite budget” and has already given councils £140 million “to help fund a fair pay deal”.