One of three unions has suspended planned strike action by waste workers after a new pay offer from council leaders.

The proposed deal would see a 3.6% increase for all grades of staff, with a rise of £1,292 for the lowest paid, equivalent to 5.63%.

Unite had taken the weekend to consider the proposal which it will now put to its members. The GMB and Unison unions are yet to announce a decision.

Staff in 26 of Scotland’s 32 council areas planned to walk out from 14 – 22 August after rejecting two previous wage increases made by local government body Cosla.

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.

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.