Bin and school strikes could go ahead 'within weeks', trade unions Unison, Unite and GMB warn

Council refuse workers and school staff could be set to strike again within weeks, trade unions have said.

UNISON, Unite and GMB are threatening to pull local government staff on strike again, after industrial action was suspended following an offer tabled by COSLA.

Members of UNISON voted for an offer which was made to them by COSLA on September 2.

It followed weeks of disruption as bins overflowed with waste.

While trade union strikes remain suspended, mandates remain live meaning that UNISON can legally call their local government members back out on strike again.

UNISON says that COSLA now claims that the elements of the original deal – an extra days leave and the payment of SSSC registration fees for those working in social work, social care and early years – were only for one year not in perpetuity.

On Thursday, the union wrote to the council body and said: “It is frankly outrageous that the draft pay circular sent to us on October 7 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.”

Council staff are still waiting for their increased pay uplifts to be included in their pay packets.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government 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 renegue on it before its even been implemented.

“Either way it will be our members that suffer if they are allowed to get away with it.

“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.”

“It should be a source of deep embarrassment to COSLA that more than six months since the pay implementation date and in the middle of the worst cost of living crisis our country has seen, waiting on their pay rise.”

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.”