Unison to halt bin strike but urges 3.6% pay offer to be rejected by members
Bin collection strikes that were suspended this week remain a strong possibility later, after a union confirmed it wants its members to reject the latest pay offer.
Unite, GMB Scotland and Unison all announced the suspension of their members’ planned eight-day walkout at numerous council’s across Scotland - including Highland Council - in a row over a new pay deal.
The strikes, which were due to start on Wednesday, were called off on Monday after a new pay offer was made.
Cosla, which represents Scotland’s various local authorities, had come back to the table with a new 3.6 per cent pay offer - up from the 3.2 per cent that was previously rejected.
The increased offer immediately sparked the suspension of the strike to enable the unions’ members to vote over whether they wished to accept it. These ballots are expected to be concluded next month.
But while Unite and GMB Scotland’s separate announcements that they were suspending the strikes raised hopes that a resolution could be near - with Unite describing the offer as “credible” and the latter calling the 3.6% proposal a “significant improvement” - there was a less positive response from Unison.
For, while if confirmed it would be suspending the strikes to enable a ballot of members, it also said it would recommend the deal be rejected. Neither Unite or GMB Scotland had indicated a stance either way in their own announcements.
Confirming Unison Scotland’s stance, its local government lead David O’Connor said: “Unison has suspended recycling and street cleansing strikes while staff are consulted on Cosla’s latest offer.
“Unison’s view is that it’s still not enough. Council staff have seen the value of their pay reduced by 25 per cent over the past 14 years and any pay deal needs to do more to reverse this.”
“The union has been clear all along that the wage deal needs to work for everyone in local government. This pause will provide some breathing space for further dialogue.”
Unison added that as well as recommending that waste collection staff reject the offer, it will also continue with a strike ballot of schools, early years and family centre staff.
Meanwhile, a leading business organisation has welcomed news that the strikes have been suspended for now.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Scotland, speaking after Unite and GMB Scotland’s announcements but before Unison’s, said the news had come as a “sign of relief” and that local firms across Scotland were “keeping their fingers tightly crossed”..
Commenting Andrew McRae, FSB Scotland Policy Chair, said: “Small business owners up and down the country will breathe a sigh of relief, not least in Edinburgh and Glasgow where many vividly remember piles of stinking rubbish driving customers away from their doors during the last bin strike two years ago.
“The efforts of politicians and the unions to find a compromise to settle this dispute without a repeat of such damaging disruption will not go unnoticed. The threat of industrial action will only be lifted entirely when members off all three unions involved agree to what is on offer, until then tens of thousands of local businesses will be keeping their fingers tightly crossed.”
