Disruption warning as Scottish Water workers start 48-hour walkout | EUROtoday

Scottish Water workers are set to stage a two-day strike from midnight on Tuesday, escalating a continued dispute over pay.

Workers will stroll out on Tuesday and Wednesday after Unison, which represents greater than 1,000 workers, rejected a 2.6 per cent pay provide, amounting to at the very least £1,050, saying it “fails to compensate staff for a decade of real-term pay cuts”.

The motion follows a one-day strike on March 28.

The union warned that important companies, together with emergency repairs and water high quality checks, can be suspended through the 48-hour walkout.

Customers must be conscious that points with water provide, sewage, or drainage is not going to be addressed till the strike concludes.

But Scottish Water has mentioned, “contingency plans are in place to enable us to maintain normal service”.

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Unison Scotland regional organiser Emma Phillips mentioned: “Strike action is always a last resort.

“Staff have suffered a decade of pay deals that haven’t kept up with inflation. They are not willing to be underpaid any longer.

“The union has done everything it can to try and get Scottish Water’s senior managers to put a fair offer on the table, but they are refusing to be reasonable.”

Unison Scottish Water department secretary Tricia McArthur added: “Scottish Water workers are simply asking to be paid fairly for the essential services upon which everyone in Scotland relies.

“Things are meant to be different in a publicly owned service like this.

“But senior managers are behaving no differently to those running private water companies south of the border.”

A strike poll occurred in February with 65 per cent of votes in favour of walkouts.

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Peter Farrer, Scottish Water’s chief working officer, mentioned: “No one benefits from industrial action, and our focus is on continuing to deliver for our millions of customers across Scotland.

“Our above-inflation pay proposal is fair and progressive, prioritising the highest percentage increases in the business for those on the lowest salary grades – money that should be in employees’ pockets now.

“We met with Acas and the trade unions on April 15 to explore options to resolve the current dispute. Following that, we made a different, further improved proposal in an effort to reach an agreement.

“This is a good proposal, and we are disappointed that union officials have not shared it with their members and given them the opportunity to vote on the offer in a ballot.

“We urge the unions to get back round the negotiating table as soon as possible.”