Strike action that would have hit the region’s bin collections has been called off after a new pay offer was made.
Waste collection workers with the Unite union were due to walk out today in their ongoing dispute with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
However, meetings between COSLA, unions and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led to a new offer on Friday.
The industrial action was suspended to allow members to be consulted on the proposed deal.
Unite’s lead negotiator for local government Wendy Dunsmore said: “After the latest round of intensive talks a new credible offer has finally been put on the table by COSLA. Unite wants to acknowledge the First Minister’s direct involvement as a primary reason for the breakthrough.
“The offer on the table is fully consolidated and as such there will be more cash in the pot going forward for local government workers. It provides a degree of security for the lowest paid with a flat rate offer of £2,000 which is an uplift worth around 10 to 11 per cent.
“We now have a credible offer which our local government representatives can recommend to the membership for acceptance.”
The new offer will see workers earning below £20,500 receive a £2,000 increase. Those earning between £20,500 and £39,000 will receive £1,925 while there will be a five per cent increase for workers earning between £39,000 and £60,000.
There will be a maximum increase of £3,000 for people who earn more than £60,000.
Following Friday’s negotiations Ms Sturgeon said: “I’m very pleased that we’ve reached this point, I think it’s good news for the public because it means we will not see the disruption of strike action next week but I think the offer that has now been made is good for workers.
“That’s important – workers across the country are struggling with the cost of living and I want to see the fairest possible pay deals made.
“I’m very grateful to the trade unions for the constructive approach to talks that I convened yesterday, also to Cosla for their constructive approach too.
“I hope we will now see trade union members accept this offer and we can see the fairest possible pay deal, but also assurance to the public we’re not going to see bin strikes or school strikes over the period ahead.”
Although the dispute involved the Unite, Unison and GMB unions, Unite was the only one in Dumfries and Galloway to achieve a high enough turnout in their ballot for legal industrial action.
COSLA’s resources spokeswoman and Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Councillor Katie Hagmann said on Friday: “Firstly I would like to thank all our trade union colleagues for the constructive discussions.
“The revised offer shows that Scotland’s council leaders have listened to the concerns of our workforce and have responded positively.
“We have sent letters to our union colleagues following today’s meeting and hope that this enables strike action to be suspended and allows our workforce to get back to doing what they do best, delivering high quality essential services for the people within our communities right across Scotland.”
