Unions call off bin worker strike after new pay offer

Unions have suspended planned strike action by waste workers after a new pay offer from council leaders.

The proposed deal would see a 3.6% increase for all grades of staff, with a rise of £1,292 for the lowest paid, equivalent to 5.63%.

The Unite, GMB and Unison unions had taken the weekend to consider the proposal, which they will now put to their members.

However, the three unions are taking different views on the new offer. Unison says it will recommend that its members reject it, while Unite is urging acceptance and the GMB is making no recommendation.

Staff in 26 of Scotland’s 32 council areas planned to walk out from 14 to 22 August after rejecting two previous wage increases proposed by local government body Cosla.

Unison Scotland's local government lead, David O'Connor, said the union believed the new offer was "still not enough".

He added: "Council staff have seen the value of their pay reduced by 25% 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."

Graham McNab, Unite’s lead negotiator for local government, said members had "remained resolute" in an effort to secure a better pay offer.

He said: “We believe that the new pay offer is credible. For the first time in years, it will mean all council workers receiving an above inflation increase.

“Unite will now suspend the eight days of strike action so a ballot can take place on the new offer.”

GMB Scotland said the offer was "a significant improvement on what came before" but that it would be down to its members to decide if it was acceptable.

The union's senior organiser in public services, Keir Greenaway, said: "It is better than that offered to council staff in England and Wales, would mean every worker receives a rise higher than the Retail Price Index and, importantly, is weighted to ensure frontline workers gain most.

“As a gesture of goodwill, we will suspend action until our members can vote on the offer.

“It should never have got to this stage, however, and Scotland’s council leaders have again shown an absolute lack of urgency or sense of realism."

Cosla made the new offer on Friday after the Scottish government found more money to help councils pay for it.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the government's intervention had "paused the prospect of costly industrial action this week, which would have impacted businesses and communities across Scotland".

She added: “Our swift action to ensure this strong offer could be made has been taken against an extremely challenging financial landscape and – while fair – represents the absolute limit of affordability.

“In order to fund the offer, we will have to move money from elsewhere in the budget and reduce funding for other programmes.

"We are taking on significant, additional financial pressure and have been clear painful choices have had to be made to fund this pay deal."

The unions had previously been offered a 3.2% rise, backdated to April.

Two years ago a 12-day strike by refuse workers saw litter building up in the streets, particularly in Edinburgh where the city was hosting its summer festivals.

Public Health Scotland was forced to declare a health warning due to an accumulation of waste in urban areas.

The dispute was eventually resolved in early September, but only after an intervention from then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The immediate threat of a bin strike is gone but the council pay dispute still is not over.

What happens now is in the hands of members of three main council unions.

It would be wrong to presume members will vote to accept the offer.

One union is recommending acceptance, another is recommending rejection and a third is making no recommendation.

One reason for Unison’s concern is that it feels more can be done to deal with what it sees as the long-term decline in the value of council pay.

But is a better deal possible or realistic this year? Cosla and the Scottish government argue the deal on offer was hard to fund and is at the limits of affordability.

However, the threat of joint action by all three unions had the effect of focusing minds in a way action by one alone may not have.

Now it’s over to union members.