Bin strikes could be back on after trade unions accused council bosses of reneging on a pay deal.
Scotland’s streets were marked by overflowing rubbish during a bitter dispute between unions and councils over pay in August.
A deal was reached after more money was put on the table by the Scottish Government. However, the UNISON, GMB and Unite unions are saying that COSLA, which represents councils, are claiming parts of the deal are for one year only.
The unions say time-limiting elements like an extra day’s leave were not part of the deal.
The three unions are now saying local government school staff and refuse workers could go back on strike.
In a letter to COSLA, UNISON wrote: “It is frankly outrageous that the draft pay circular sent to us on 7th October sought to time limit elements of the offer that had no time limitation on them in the original offer letter or in the discussions we had prior to it.
“That this remains unresolved should be a source of deep embarrassment.
"As has previously been advised our strike mandates remain live and we are all under increasing pressure from members, who are rapidly losing faith in their employer, to lift the strike suspensions if a resolution is not achieved quickly.”
Johanna Baxter of the same union said: “This is appalling behaviour - either the employer did not even understand the offer they themselves were making or they did and are now trying to renege on it before it’s even been implemented.
“We have made clear to the employer and the Scottish Government that our strike mandates remain live and all three trade unions are under increasing pressure from members, who are rapidly losing faith in their employer, to lift the strike suspensions if a resolution and call members out if a resolution is not achieved quickly.”
“Our members will rightly be questioning the value of COSLA if they cannot be trusted to draft an offer that they understand or uphold one that they do understand. "
A COSLA spokesperson said: “We value our Local Government workforce highly. That is why, in an attempt to get the money to the Local Government Workforce as soon as possible we have offered to separate the pay element of the agreement from the parts that require clarification.
“On the clarification points, in the interests of COSLA’s members, and given significant financial constraints across the public sector, we are working with Scottish Government to ensure there is a shared understanding in relation to all parts of the deal.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
