UNISON has been accused of using striking support staff in the First Minister’s constituency to help boost the pay for council managers, reports say.
Support staff, including teaching assistants, at schools across Perth and Kinross have taken part in two weeks' worth of industrial action called by the union.
Unison called for the strikes despite Cosla, the body representing Scottish local authorities, agreeing to the pay demand put forward by all three trade unions, GMB, Unite, and Unison, representing council staff.
The union said the reason it rejected the offer was because it was concerned it did not do enough to address what it sees as the long-term decline in the value of council pay.
Unison rejected the proposed offer of a pay rise of either 3.6% or 67p per hour, whichever is higher.
According to the Courier an insider in a “rival union” has accused Unison of attempting to use low-paid school support staff in a “misguided attempt” to force a better deal for well-paid local authority bosses.
The newspaper said a source at another local authority union told them the action risks undermining future pay negotiations.
The source told the Courier: “It could undermine future negotiations. Why would the employers and Cosla agree to our demands if the goal posts will be moved?”
“The strike is really about managers and other better paid officers earning £40,000 or more who make up Unison’s local government committee, not the staff who are struggling to make ends meet,” the insider, who reportedly has knowledge of the negotiations, said.
According to the Courier Scottish Government insiders also share the view that the strike action in Perthshire is being used by the union to increase pay for middle management, not the lower paid workers on the front line.
It is reported that John Swinney, whose son is caught up in industrial action, is understood to be privately furious about the situation.
An SNP government source reportedly told the Courier they characterised the strikes as “bad politics” which “no government leader would be able to accept”.
“It doesn’t even make sense on its own terms,” the source added.
Unison has been approached for comment.
