Ministers accused of hypocrisy as Scottish Water strikes escalate

Ministers’ promise of fair pay and conditions in Scotland’s public sector is in tatters as industrial action escalates at Scottish Water, according to GMB.

General secretary Gary Smith warned the worsening dispute at the publicly-owned utility company exposes the Scottish Government’s commitment to workers’ rights as a sham.

Speaking at a rally of striking workers in Glasgow today, Smith said the dispute has potential to become one of the most significant in Scotland’s public sector and urged ministers to intervene.

Unions claim Scottish Water management have failed to seriously engage in negotiations and claim a revised offer made last night was worse than one already rejected by workers.

Alex Plant, the chief executive of the water company, who earned £480,000 last year, attended the talks yesterday for the first time after his absence had been questioned but only stayed a few minutes.

Speaking outside the company’s Shieldhall plant, Smith said: “In England, we have seen a series of scandals surrounding water companies from exorbitant debt and executive pay to filthy beaches and rivers.

“Scottish Water is publicly owned and meant to be different so how did we end up here?”

“How did we end up with workers being refused a fair pay rise while executives line their pockets with record bonuses?

“How did we end up with a chief executive finally turning up to pay talks after a year and only staying for 20 seconds.”

“It is damning of the management of Scottish Water but damning too of the hypocrisy of a Scottish Government that advocates for fair work and the protection of public services.

“John Swinney and his ministers must be held to account for this growing scandal.

“From this point forward, every time they talk to us about fair work and how Scotland treats working people better, we will point to Scottish Water and its absolute failure to make good on that promise.”

The meeting between the company and unions last night failed to deliver a breakthrough as the unions, GMB Scotland, Unite and Unison, accused Scottish Water of weakening an offer already overwhelmingly rejected by workers.

After three earlier days of strike action, a seven-day walkout began on Monday as part of a rolling programme of industrial action threatening emergency repairs, testing and maintenance.

Claire Greer, GMB Scotland organiser, said the unions had agreed to attend the hastily-convened meeting last night in the hope of a serious offer and possible resolution.

Instead, she said, it was the second time in the dispute that Scottish Water made a new offer that was worse than the previous one.

She said: “The company’s refusal to engage with these negotiations in a serious manner is beyond our understanding.

“For a while, we could not decide if it was incompetence or wilful. After so many months, it can only be deliberate and, for whatever reason, the company has no interest in finding a resolution.

“It has spent more time questioning how unions ballot our members than trying to find a way to end to a dispute that is entirely of its own making.

“Scottish Water has shown no interest in reaching a fair settlement and sat on its hands as a dispute that could have easily been resolved months ago escalated.

“The Scottish Government must now explain to its senior management team why its refusal to clearly and honestly engage with its own workforce cannot stand.”

Workers overwhelmingly voted to support industrial action after the water company, where executives received record bonuses last year, reduced the terms of a pay offer that had already been rejected.

They voted against an offer of 3.4% or £1400 covering the last nine months as the company changes the date for annual rises to take effect from July to April.