UNION leaders have said they may call local government workers out on strike again, accusing councils of introducing a time limit on elements of a pay deal.
Unison, along with Unite and the GMB, said Cosla had sought to introduce time limits to parts of a deal which was tabled at the beginning of last month.
The unions say the proposal for an extra day’s leave and the payment of social worker registration fees has been limited to one year rather than perpetuity.
Union members have previously voted to accept the pay offer, although officials say their mandate from an earlier ballot for strike action remains live.
READ MORE: 'Beyond parody': Nicola Sturgeon reacts as Liz Truss resigns
Strikes were suspended at the end of September.
Unison Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter said: “This is appalling behaviour – either the employer did not even understand the offer they themselves were making or they did and are now trying to renege on it before it’s even been implemented.
“Either way it will be our members that suffer if they are allowed to get away with it.
“We have made clear to the employer and the Scottish Government that our strike mandates remain live and all three trade unions are under increasing pressure from members, who are rapidly losing faith in their employer, to lift the strike suspensions and call members out if a resolution is not achieved quickly.
“Our members will rightly be questioning the value of Cosla if they cannot be trusted to draft an offer that they understand or uphold one that they do understand.”
A spokesman for Cosla said: “We value our local government workforce highly.
“That is why, in an attempt to get the money to the local government workforce as soon as possible, we have offered to separate the pay element of the agreement from the parts that require clarification.
“On the clarification points, in the interests of Cosla’s members, and given significant financial constraints across the public sector, we are working with Scottish Government to ensure there is a shared understanding in relation to all parts of the deal.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here