The ripples from the cost of living crisis are growing into waves.
Almost everywhere you turn there is industrial unrest over pay.
The latest involves bin workers in Dundee and Angus who will down tools for a week later this month in their ongoing battle for more money.
Their tactics appear to be to cause a stink with their paymasters by making a stink on the streets.
That might not be palatable to those left with waste piling up outside their homes or in public spaces.
But it is hard not to sympathise with any group of workers who are trying to stave off the malign effects of spiralling living costs with a 2% pay offer.
That amounts to the proverbial drop in the ocean when households are facing energy costs that could push through the £4,000 barrier annually by the turn of the year and food bills that have gone through the roof.
But waste workers are far from alone in seeking better pay and there’s no bottomless pot of money available to local authorities to distribute.
A fair settlement would require a fresh – and substantial – injection of cash from central government.
But with UK politics in limbo, it is far from clear if there is the appetite or funding for a meaningful intervention.
Meantime, thousands are being dragged into financial – and emotional – distress.
It is a bleak time and the outlook, sadly, is no sunnier for many.
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