Editing Winter of Discontent (section)

===Waste collectors===
With many collectors having been on strike since 22 January, local authorities began to run out of space for storing waste and used local parks under their control. The Conservative controlled [[Westminster City Council]] used [[Leicester Square]] in the heart of London's West End for piles of rubbish and, as the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' reported, this attracted [[rat]]s and the available food led to an increase in their numbers. The media nicknamed the area Fester Square.<ref name="Misery Monday" />

On 21 February, a settlement of the local authority workers' dispute was agreed, whereby workers got an 11 per cent rise, plus £1 per week, with the possibility of extra rises, should a pay comparability study recommend them. Some left-wing local authorities, among them the [[London Borough of Camden]], conceded the union demands in full (known as the "Camden surplus") and then saw an investigation by the [[Audit Commission (United Kingdom)|District Auditor]], which eventually ruled it a breach of the [[fiduciary duty]] owed to the ratepayers (local taxpayers) of the area and therefore illegal. Camden Borough councillors, among them [[Ken Livingstone]], avoided [[Surcharge (sanction on public servant)|surcharge]]. Livingstone was Leader of the [[Greater London Council]] at the time the decision not to impose a surcharge was made.