Bin strikes in Falkirk Council will continue as national negotiations between trade unions and the council umbrella group, COSLA, failed to make a breakthrough today (Monday).
The current eight-day strike by Unite members across Falkirk - which has seen bins going unemptied and both recycling centres closed - will pause when members return to work on Thursday.
However, if an agreement is not reached there will be a further eight days of action by Unite members in waste services from September 6-13.
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While Unite has rejected the latest offer - which remains at five per cent - outright, the other trade unions involved will consult their members, although both are recommending refusal.
All three trade unions have released statements saying that the new offer does not do enough to help the lowest paid among council workers.
Despite this Falkirk's council leaderCecil Meiklejohn said she hoped members would accept the new deal, and said ti would "offer significant increases for those on low pay who will be most impacted by the current financial situation."
The new offer included a minimum pay uplift of £1925 - based on a 37 hour working week - which matches the offer made to Local Government south of the border, a key demand from the trade unions. However, in Scotland only part of this payment will be part of an annual pay rise - the rest will be a one-off payment for this year only.
Kevin Robertson, chair of Falkirk Council's Unite branch, said: "The offer has to be fair in the long-term - do we really want to be having these strikes and these talks every year?
"We have a window of opportunity before the next strikes start and if it's not resolved we'll be back to where we are, sadly.
"We genuinely hope it is resolved because no-one wants to be on strike."
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said: “A flat rate award is a key demand from unions to ensure more consolidated money goes into the pockets of frontline workers and not the highest paid in our councils. COSLA knew this but instead tabled this offer as an across-the-board percentage rise that only feathers the nests of service directors.
“This was unacceptable to our local government committee members. It’s not credible that in the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years, and with inflation and energy bills soaring, a head of service gets four times the consolidated increase than a bin collector, cleaner or carer."
Unite the Union has rejected the offer outright.
The union's industrial officer Wendy Dunsmore, said: "The structure of the offer continues to disproportionately and unfairly effect the lowest paid with the majority of those being women. In real terms it leaves the lowest paid workers no better-off and a significant proportion of the offer does not enhance overtime, allowances or pensions.”
Tomorrow and Wednesday, union members will continue to picket both of Falkirk district's recycling centres as well as the street cleansing base.
Falkirk council leader Cecil Meiklejohn said: “Following a series of intensive discussions with colleagues in at the Scottish Government, and continued talks with colleagues across the country, we put forward a package to provide Cost of Living Payments to local authority workers earning below around £39,000.
“This package means that someone earning £20,000, for example, will receive a £2,000 increase in take home pay – equivalent to 10% while everyone under £39,000 would receive the Cost of Living Payment ensuring their increase is at least £1,925. All of those earning over £39,000 that would just get 5%.
“Our discussions secured an additional £200 million over two years from the Scottish Government over and above the £140 million recurring funding already announced.
“We all want to do more, and no deal will ever be perfect. This deal, however, does offer significant increases for those on low pay who will be most impacted by the current financial situation. We must now respect the democratic trade union processes underway while we hope that members decide to accept the offer.”
