A trade union leader has savaged the Scottish Government over its role in the dispute over council workers' pay.
GMB general secretary Gary Smith accused Nicola Sturgeon ’s administration of playing games and trying to “pass the buck” onto local government.
He said: “We’re caught between a Tory Government that’s utterly rotten and a Scottish Government which is utterly incompetent.”
Smith took aim at the Scottish Government over bin strikes that started in Edinburgh but which have spread to over 20 councils. Unions have rejected a 5 per cent rise and talks have so far failed to break the deadlock.
Although the dispute is between council umbrella group COSLA and the trade unions, Smith blames the Scottish Government for allegedly short-changing local authorities: “There has been politicking and posturing from COSLA and the Scottish Government, but ultimately the Scottish Government has to own this.
"We know that funding and support for local councils has been hammered over the past decade or more. It is very clear that we had a cost of living crisis developing.
“The Scottish Government had the opportunity and had the wherewithal to resolve this before now.
Speaking to the Record, he said: “There’s a game that goes on and our people are just props in that, and the game is to keep this away from the door of Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government.
“The politics of grievance is the norm. Competence is the exception and the chickens have come home to roost.”
He said of the SNP/Green Government: “This is far more cynical than just being asleep at the wheel.
“The cost of living crisis has been well documented and well publicised. They knew this was coming. They just thought they were going to be able to spin their way out of it, pass the buck and pass the responsibility onto local government.
“For too often in the past they have got away with stuff. And I think they thought they were going to dodge this as well and somebody else would pick up the tab for that, but the truth is they’re catching the flak for it and rightly so.”
He said of the strikes in the capital, which have resulted in over flowing bins and litter-strewn streets during the Festival: “In cities like Edinburgh working class communities have been abandoned. They’ve been pushed increasingly to the periphery, the city is utterly unaffordable for ordinary people.
“It’s been brought home to people about the valuable role that people who are often unseen now in a city like Edinburgh actually play. The city depends on low paid workers who are increasingly priced out of the city in which they were born and grew up.
“Not surprisingly they’ve finally stood up and said they’ve had enough and spoiled the party.”
He also claimed there is a “class dynamic” to the dispute: “It’s just utterly wrong that it should take the Festival for politicians now to be getting concerned.”
“An explosion of class politics has burst on to the streets of Edinburgh and it’s embarrassing Scotland’s establishment because it’s inconveniencing what’s regrettably becoming an increasingly bourgeois and elitist festival.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Whilst the Scottish Government has no formal role in the negotiations, we continue to work collaboratively with COSLA and the trades unions and met them today for continued discussions.
“I welcome the commitment from all parties to continue talks to find a fair and sustainable settlement that will bring an end to the ongoing industrial action. I want to ensure an early resolution and that will only come about if there’s intense dialogue. The Scottish Government has facilitated that today.
“We are doing all we can within the resources available to us in the face of the cost of living emergency and have provided an extra £140 million on a recurring basis to support a higher pay award.
“All areas of the public sector are having to make challenging savings to stay within budget. The UK Government has cut the Scottish Government’s budget and not adjusted it for inflation, exacerbating the financial situation for both government and councils.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
