Falkirk bin strikes: Union confirms industrial action is off

Falkirk Council waste services strikes scheduled to take place from September 6 to September 13 are now suspended.

Unite stated it will now hold a consultative ballot of its local government membership on the new pay offer.

The union confirmed it had received a flat rate fully consolidated offer of £2000 for those earning up to £20,500 – equivalent to an increase of around 10 to 11 per

cent for the lowest paid, who are estimated to be around 18 per cent of the total workforce. The offer is consolidated into overtime, allowances and pensions.

The new pay deal further includes a £1925 flat rate offer which is fully consolidated for those earning between £20,500 and up to £39,000. This is the equivalent to an increase of eight per cent for those earning around £24,000. The offer would also be backdated to April.

Unite estimates trade union negotiators have been able to secure around an extra £460 million for local government since the dispute in waste services began in Edinburgh on August 18.

Wendy Dunsmore, Unite’s lead negotiator for local government, said: “After the latest round of intensive talks a new credible offer has finally been put on the table by COSLA. Unite wants to acknowledge the First Minister’s direct involvement as a primary reason for the breakthrough.

"The offer on the table is fully consolidated and as such there will be more cash in the pot going forward for local government workers. It provides a degree of security for the lowest paid with a flat rate offer of £2000 which is an uplift worth around 10-11 per cent.

“We now have a credible offer which our local government representatives can recommend to the membership for acceptance.”

The recent strike action followed on from reports more than half of Scotland’s 250,000 council workers are earning less than £25,000 a year for a 37-hour week.