Scottish Water staff will resume strikes after unions representing the workers today (Friday) accused management at the company of ‘playing games’.
UNISON, Unite and GMB said negotiations at arbitration body Acas to resolve a pay dispute have been ‘fruitless’ as they broke down today after the company went back on a previous proposal.
The unions say Scottish Water had proposed an improved offer for pay and conditions worth an additional £1.2 million earlier this month, most of which was through a staff bonus scheme.
However, the unions say the additional bonus money was taken off the table today and an inferior offer put forward.
Unions say they are ‘bitterly disappointed’ with the outcome of the talks and have accused senior managers of playing games over pay. Strike action will resume from Monday 2 June for seven days, they add.
UNISON Scotland regional manager Simon Macfarlane said: “Unions are bitterly disappointed with today’s talks. After eleven months of fruitless negotiations, there seemed to be some progress.
“But making staff an inferior offer to the one previously proposed is just playing games.
“Each union will consult its members on this latest offer, but the company should be clear that strike action is back on next month.
“The people of Scotland deserve better. Scottish Water workers want to be out in communities providing a world-class water system at a time when the dry weather is putting the service under strain. But instead they’re having to fight to get fair pay.”
GMB Scotland organiser Claire Greer said: “As the rest of the country basks in the sunshine, management in Scottish Water have once again managed to throw shade at all of their employees.
“An offer was on the table in a bid to resolve this ongoing dispute and it is now clear that it was utterly disingenuous. Once again Scottish Water has absolutely shattered employee relations and has completely misread the situation.
“Management’s ability to play games with unions and employees is staggering. A second offer that Scottish Water has scattered to the winds has left us with no option other than to continue with industrial action.”
Unite Scotland regional officer Sam Ritchie said: “It is extremely disappointing that Scottish Water management has chosen to place itself in this position.
“We have engaged in wage negotiations in good faith and, as a gesture of that good faith, suspended our planned industrial action. However, the offer presented to the unions nearly two weeks ago now appears to have been disingenuous.
“Scottish Water management continues to disregard the voices of the workforce we represent, responding instead with actions that reflect a concerning disconnect.
“Furthermore, chief executive Alex Plant, whose salary exceeds that of the prime minister, has once again declined to engage directly with the representatives of his workforce.
“This lack of meaningful engagement has left the unions with no viable alternative but to move forward with industrial action.”
Notes to editors:
– The joint statement issued by UNISON, Unite and GMB today (Friday) said: “The joint trade unions are bitterly disappointed to report to members, once again we came to a meeting today with Scottish Water management to seek to make progress for our members only to be met with intransigence.
“The meeting today came on the back of 11 months of fruitless negotiations and two days of Acas talks earlier this month, which at last showed some potential movement.
“At the Acas talks management came with £1.2 million additional money as a proposed increased offer, the majority of this in an increase to the AOIP annual incentive scheme. At today’s meeting this money was taken off the table. Instead, a final offer was tabled which was massively inferior to the one proposed in the Acas talks.
“The joint trade unions will now arrange to meet with members and consult them on this final offer from Scottish Water. We will also continue with our planned industrial action.”