NO END TO THE STRIKE MISERY
Deal worth up to 10pc rejected as new wave of walkouts looms
SCOTLAND’S strike chaos is set to continue after trade unions rejected another improved pay offer.
Rubbish has piled up in towns and cities across Scotland after refuse workers at 20 local authorities walked out – and a new wave of action next week is set to force many schools and nurseries to close.
Council umbrella group Cosla put forward a boosted offer for workers worth up to 10 per cent following five days of intensive talks with the Scottish Government and the unions.
But Unite last night confirmed it was rejecting the offer, which included a commitment that no employee would get less than an additional £1,925 pay rise, while Unison recommended that members vote against it and the GMB condemned the proposed deal.
SNP ministers have been criticised for failing to find a resolution – as Nicola Sturgeon was accused of ‘nationalist glad-handing’ after her fifth appearance at Edinburgh’s festivals to host a talk with proindependence actor Brian Cox.
Labour local government spokesman Mark Griffin said: ‘The disruption that thousands of Scots are facing to council services is the direct result of the SNP Government’s cuts, incompetence and intransigence.
‘Streets across Scotland are covered in rubbish because this SNP Government will not give workers the deal that they deserve.’
The improved deal offered by Cosla came after the Scottish Government agreed to provide councils with a further £200million over two years, in addition to an extra £140million committed earlier.
This would have guaranteed a minimum £1,925 rise for workers, with wages rising by at least 5 per cent. The Scottish Government said someone earning £20,000 would receive £2,000 more – equivalent to a 10 per cent rise – and everyone earning less than £39,000 would receive more than 5 per cent. Only those earning more than £39,000 would get just a 5 per cent rise.
Unite said its local government committee had rejected the offer, branding it a ‘waste of precious time’ which would disproportionately hit the lowest paid. Wendy Dunsmore of Unite said: ‘Strike action remains scheduled for next week unless Cosla gets back to us with a credible offer.’
Unite’s current strike in Edinburgh ends today, while action in 13 other councils ends tomorrow. The next phase will take place in schools and waste services in 20 councils from September 6-13.
Johanna Baxter of Unison Scotland said: ‘Unison’s local government committee met this morning and confirmed that strike action will continue while we consult our members on this latest offer.
‘We are recommending they reject the offer and continue with the action already planned to try to secure a bigger consolidated sum.’
Keir Greenaway of GMB Scotland said Cosla’s offer amounted to ‘an across-the-board percentage rise that only feathers the nests of service directors’.
Tory education spokesman Oliver
‘Direct result of SNP cuts and incompetence’
Mundell said: ‘Parents and pupils have already suffered huge disruption during the last two years. Strike action is the last thing they need. School closures will only add to the cost of living crisis as additional childcare costs must be sought.’
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: ‘No deal is perfect and I wish we could go further but this deal does offer significant increases for those on low pay. We must now respect the democratic trade union processes under way while we hope that members decide to accept the offer.’
Katie Hagmann, Cosla’s resources spokesman, said: ‘This offer is significantly better [than] previous offers and would have helped to support council workforces across the country at this difficult time.
‘This is why we are so disappointed with the response to it from our trade union colleagues. We have done everything we possibly can to get to this stage and this offer, which is still on the table, is as good as it gets.’
Tory constitution spokesman Donald Cameron criticised the First Minister, saying: ‘Another day, another appearance at Edinburgh’s Book Festival for Nicola Sturgeon. People are at the end of their tether with the cost of living crisis, widespread strikes and a range of other failures on devolved matters.
‘That’s what Nicola Sturgeon should be addressing as a matter of urgency, not vanity projects and nationalist glad-handing.’
A spokesman for Miss Sturgeon said: ‘The First Minister is absolutely focused on the issues facing ordinary people.’