Scottish Water says 'door is open' as unions urged to ballot members on pay offer

The boss of Scottish Water has told MSPs the company’s “door is open” following strikes last week as unions were urged to put a pay offer to its members.

Workers walked out of the public body last week over a pay dispute, with management offering an increase of 3.4% or £1,400 for those on the lowest pay grades.

Speaking at the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, Scottish Water chief executive Alex Plant said the offer was “good, fair and progressive”, while stressing that utility firm had to ensure sustainability and value for money for customers.

“I would like this to be resolved. I want people to have money in their pockets,” he told MSPs.

“Our door is open, we want to get this resolved, we’ll meet any time with our union colleagues and it just is important we try to resolve this as quick as possible, and that is our focus.”

Mr Plant said he had not met with the unions about the pay dispute, which is being handled by other senior executives at the firm, but added, “I really want to meet with the unions” to discuss the company’s long-term future.

“One of the things that I think has been disappointing is that the offer that’s before everybody has not actually been put to union members to consider, so the ballot that was taken around the principle of industrial action rather than the offer being put to union members for their assessment,” Mr Plant said.

While the company’s chief operating officer Peter Farrer said offers in the last decade to workers had been “comfortably over inflation”, while pay changes proposed in 2023 represented a “huge investment” in staff.

The original plans resulted in strike action proposed to last as long as 48 days over several months before an improved offer and a commitment to further negotiation were made.

“This is a good offer… I would like to encourage the union leaders to put our refreshed offer in front of their members, because they haven’t put that offer in front of their members yet and get back around the table so we can have some meaningful negotiations as soon as possible,” Mr Farrer said.

Under questioning from Labour MSP Monica Lennon, Mr Plant denied the company had sent “anti-union” emails to staff.

“I don’t recognise that description, I understand that emotions can run high when you’re in a period of industrial action, but our communications have sought to be measured and factual and clear and focused on trying to find a way through and that’s where we still are,” he said.

In a wide-ranging session, Scottish Water chair Deirdre Michie also defended the pay structure for senior managers at Scottish Water, including a base salary of £246,000 for Mr Plant, rising to £483,000 with benefits and pension contributions, according to a its 2024 annual report.

The chief executive, who joined the firm in May 2023, was also given £73,000 to relocate to Scotland after having worked for Anglian Water Services, £42,000 of which was for help with Land and Transactions Building Tax (LBTT) on the permanent home he bought.

“We are competing against private companies for the talent that we need to lead us, a very complex business,” she said.

“We’re one of the biggest public corporations in Scotland, that is performing well.

“Our benchmarking demonstrates that our executive salaries are actually among the lowest of any comparable companies in the UK.

“So we need to attract the talent with the skills and the experience to ensure that Scottish Water delivers the type of outcomes that you expect from us on a daily basis and for the longer term.”