Further strike action is set to hit Scottish Water as
the dispute over pay at the public body escalates.
48-hour strike action will take place on Tuesday 22nd and
Wednesday 23rd April involving
Unite's 500-strong membership at offices and wastewater treatment
works across the whole of Scotland with the union warning more
industrial action is ‘likely' (see notes to editor).
Unite will stage protests and photo call:
When & Where: 9.30 a.m. Tuesday 22 April &
Wednesday 23 April at Shieldhall Depot and
Clatto Water Treatment Works, Dundee.
Unite continues to criticise Scottish Water executives for using
talks through the conciliation service Acas as a
device to ‘water down' a
pay offer made to the workforce, and to fall back on an inferior
offer made last year. The ‘watered down' offer amounts to a basic
pay rise of 3.4 per cent or £1,050 for those on the lowest grades
over a nine-month period.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham,
said: “Unite members at Scottish Water refuse to
accept the double standards of eye-watering pay for executives,
while workers have to make do with a rehashed pay offer that
fails to deliver a decent pay
increase.”
“Unite stands with our members in their fight for
better jobs, pay and conditions at Scottish Water and we
will not back down.”
Unite fully expects that the industrial action will directly
impact Scottish Water's ability to respond to
water leakages, flooding, pollution, and quality
concerns. Unite is highlighting the
‘eye-watering' executive pay levels at Scottish
Water. (see notes to Editors)
Sam Ritchie, Unite industrial officer,
said: “Strike action at Scottish Water will
continue for as long as it takes to resolve this issue. The
action being taken is a direct result of Scottish Water's
arrogance in ignoring our members legitimate demands for a decent
pay increase.
“Industrial action will inevitably result in
disruption to services. The public should look to those at the
top of Scottish Water as the cause of any disruption.
Scottish Water have it within their gift to resolve this
dispute and it has miserably failed to do so.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
Unite will be taking industrial action from 08:00 on Tuesday 22
April at the following locations:
Inverness Henderson House, Henderson Drive Inverness
Dundee Bullion House, 84 Main Street Invergowrie Dundee, DD2
5BE
Clatto WTW, Dundee DD3 9SE
Edinburgh Fairmilehead Office, 55 Buckstone Terrace,
Edinburgh, EH10 6XH
Juniper House, Research Avenue North Heriot Watt Campus Currie,
Edinburgh, EH14 4AL
Stirling Forth House, Munro Road Stirling, FK7 7SY.
Irvine Meadowhead Wastewater Treatment Works, Meadowhead
Road, Ayrshire, Irvine, KA11 5AY
Cumnock (Underwood), Waste Water Treatment Works, Auchinleck
Road, KA18 1RS.
Camphill, Waste Water Treatment Works, Largs Road, Ayrshire KA24
4LT.
‘The Bridge' Office, 6 Buchanan Gate Stepps Glasgow, G33
6FB
Partick, Waste Water Treatment Works, 33 Dunbarton road
Glasgow, G11 6PD.
Dalmoak, Waste Water Treatment Works, Renton Road, G82 4HQ.
Shieldhall, Waste Water Treatment Works, 38 Renfrew Road
Govan Glasgow, G51 4SU.
Hamilton, Waste Water Treatment Works, Bothwell Road Lanarkshire,
ML3 0EF
Scottish Water's executive
team were awarded £329,000 in bonuses and benefits in 2023/24.
The three key executives of Scottish Water, Alex Plant, Peter
Farrer and Alan Scott, amassed £842,000 in remuneration packages
with the outgoing chief executive Millican also collecting £55,000
before his exit in May 2023.
Alex Plant, the chief executive on top of his reported £246,000
salary received an overall remuneration package totalling
£483,000. The executive and non-executive members, including the
chair, of the public body benefited from remuneration packages
worth a combined £1.15m up from £854,000 in 2023.
