Swinney challenged to ‘urgently intervene’ to try to end council workers’ pay row

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

John Swinney is facing calls to “urgently intervene” in a bid to prevent strikes by council workers which unions have warned could result in a “stinking summer” for Scotland.

Waste and recycling workers across a majority of councils in Scotland are threatening industrial action, after unions Unite, the GMB and Unison all rejected the latest 3.2% pay offer.

With cash from the Scottish Government having ended previous disputes, where protests by local government workers saw rubbish pile up in cities including Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Tories called on the First Minister to intervene.

Liz Smith, the Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesperson, said: “John Swinney must now urgently intervene to prevent these strikes going ahead – or there will be a public health risk as well as our streets looking like a tip during the Edinburgh Festival.”

Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison met union leaders and senior figures from the local government body Cosla on Wednesday.

While the discussions ended without a deal being reached, Ms Robison said her officials would now “work at pace with local government officers to understand what an improved negotiating envelope may look like”.

However, Ms Smith claimed the failure to reach a deal was both “concerning and disappointing” adding that this “raises the spectre of rubbish piling up on streets across Scotland”.

The Conservative MSP said: “The buck stops firmly with the SNP government for this dispute.

“Their systematic underfunding of local government, year after year, has left our councils so hamstrung that they have been unable to reach a pay agreement with the unions.

“It’s taken too long for the SNP to get involved – and still they have failed to resolve it.”

Ms Robison insisted her meeting with union leaders and Cosla chiefs had been “productive” – although she stressed afterwards it “wasn’t a negotiating forum”.

The Finance Secretary said while the “Scottish Government has no formal role in local pay negotiations” she added that ministers “absolutely recognise the importance of supporting meaningful dialogue to reach a fair pay deal and avoid industrial action”.

However, Ms Robison continued: “We are navigating turbulent financial waters. This week’s statement from the Chancellor revealed the extent of the challenges facing the public sector across the UK.

“What is particularly worrying is that in her statement the Chancellor announced she is not fully funding the public sector pay deals she has accepted. Instead, cuts are being demanded across most of Whitehall. That means that we will not receive full Barnett consequentials from these pay deals.”

“It is amid this extremely challenging landscape then, that I have asked my officials to work at pace with local government officers to understand what an improved negotiating envelope may look like.

“I welcomed the willingness of Cosla and trade union leaders to engage constructively with that process.”