Scottish Water strike threat: Unite union members vote emphatically for strike, which could hit flood response

Strike action ‘will impair Scottish Water’s ability to respond to water leakages, flooding, pollution and quality concerns’

Scottish Water’s response to leaks, floods and water pollution could be hit by strike action, a union has warned, after staff voted to walk out over pay and a new grading system.

The Unite union said its 500-strong Scottish Water membership had emphatically backed strike action, voting by 89 per cent in favour. And it added that key frontline workers could down tools in a matter of weeks. Unite’s members include waste water operatives, water treatment and burst repair operatives, maintenance engineers, electricians and sewage tanker drivers.

Unite has accused Scottish Water bosses of bypassing long-standing collective bargaining processes involving unions. The dispute concerns a new “reward system” which the union says Scottish Water bosses are trying to impose on the workforce, tied to the 2023 pay offer.

Edinburgh's Comely Bank Road flooded by a burst water main on nearby Comely Bank Avenue - Scottish Water workers were called to the scene to unblock drains as the street began to fill with water.

The ballot result comes after Alex Plant, new chief executive of Scottish Water, has come under fire for earning a reported annual salary of £295,000, which Unite argues is in breach of the Scottish Government’s public sector pay rules. Unite says Mr Plant’s salary is £25,000 higher than his direct predecessor despite the pay policy expecting a 10 per cent reduction in the remuneration package compared with an outgoing appointment.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, said: “Scottish Water has got nobody to blame but itself for the mess it has created. It has refused to make our 500-strong membership a fair pay offer. Instead, the boardroom has found the time, to award its new chief executive an eye-watering pay package. Unite fully support members in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions at Scottish Water.”

Due to the key frontline roles undertaken by Unite’s membership in sewers, water treatment centres and on pipework, the union believes strike action will directly impair Scottish Water’s ability to respond to water leakages, flooding, pollution and quality concerns. Unison and GMB union members at Scottish Water have also voted heavily in favour of strike action.

Stephen Deans, Unite regional coordinating officer, said: “Scottish Water has refused to meaningfully engage with us on pay and over a proposed new grading structure. Unite’s membership includes key frontline workers and without them Scotland’s ability to respond to any crisis stemming from waterworks, flooding and sewers is all but non-existent.

“Double standards have gripped the upper echelons of Scottish Water and we will not let this go unopposed. Strike action is now inevitable unless Scottish Water make a reasonable pay offer for 2023 which is separate from negotiations on a new pay and grading structure.”

A Scottish Water spokesperson said the company and trade unions had held talks on Monday with the support of conciliation service ACAS. “Our view is that reforming our pay and grading structure to address many issues that our employees have made clear, is not something we would expect our unions to be resisting. We continue to seek negotiations with trade unions over what we consider to be a very fair and reasonable proposal. If agreed with our unions, this would increase every employee’s pay by at least 8 per cent and reform our pay and grading structure in a way that our colleagues are asking us for.

“We remain 100 per cent committed to the conciliation process concluding successfully, and both sides have agreed to continue conciliation talks next week, as we seek to achieve an outcome that is of benefit to all our employees.”