By Left Horizons Scottish correspondents
Rubbish will be piling up in city centres in Scotland as the Scottish local authorities (Cosla) and the Scottish Government refuse to agree to a pay rise for refuse workers, at least in line with the rising cost of living.
Refuse workers in Edinburgh have returned to work after twelve days on strike, but more walk-outs are planned. Other local authority workers, such as those in waste and education will be striking in 20 local authorities from September 6 to 13, after they too were given an unacceptable offer. Hundreds of schools will close as a result of school keepers joining in the action.
The Scottish industrial officer for Unite, Wendy Dunsmore, has predicted a grim picture, a winter of discontent, unless Cosla and the Scottish government pull back from a policy of slashing workers’ living standards. “We are absolutely resolute”, she said, “that this is going to be a winter of discontent and will escalate but we are hoping against all hope the Scottish Government and Cosla will see sense and get back around the table with a proper rise for the lowest paid within local authorities.”
The GMB union is Scotland has already turned the offer down and UNISON is holding a consultative ballot of its members. UNISON has recommended that the offer be rejected, but, unfortunately, the wording in its circular to members has opened the door to the offer being seen as acceptable of some members, because of its emphasis on other elements (ie besides pay) that have been offered by employers. It remains to be seen, therefore whether or not UNISON members, in the consultative ballot, will be as firm as they were before.
SNP First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has tweeted “I understand the pressure workers face…”. But we doubt that, given that the Government has refused to come up with a pay offer that matches inflation. According to Sturgeon, the offer includes a payment of £1,925 for council staff, with slightly more for those earning up to £20,000, but this payment is not consolidated into pay as it is in England, much to the annoyance of Scottish workers.
More than half of Scottish local authority workers earn below £25,000
It is a “non-recurring” payment, Unite has pointed out, and “it fails to recognise that the cost of living is projected to increase for all workers”. Unite has also said on its website that the offer that has been made “remains a minimum of 5 per cent on average across the local government pay grades with a varying one-off payment – for the lower paid it is estimated to be around £989.”
Unite has reported that over half of Scotland’s quarter of a million council workers earn less than £25,000 a year. The astronomical rises in energy prices, while the energy companies and suppliers make massive profits, are the biggest part of what is shaping up to be the biggest hit on living standards since the Napoleonic Wars, two hundred years ago. Socialists and trade unionists everywhere in the UK will support the fight of Scottish local authority workers for decent pay rises, as indeed workers are fighting for the same in so many other industries and workplaces.
