Industrial Action - Your Questions Answered

Below we have tried to answer questions you may have about the current pay talks between Scottish Water and our trade unions. We may add to this if further questions arise, so please do check back.

Why are staff striking at Scottish Water?

The joint trade unions rejected the latest pay offer from Scottish Water and notified the company that they would begin industrial action on March 7.

What is the Scottish Water offer on the table?

Scottish Water has proposed a pay rise based on a figure of 3.4%, comfortably above inflation.  It has also guaranteed a minimum increase of £1,400 meaning those on the lowest salary grades will see the biggest increases across the business.  
The business believes it is a fair and progressive offer and, if accepted, will mean that pay costs for Scottish Water will have increased 17% in the last two years, representing a very significant investment in our hard-working people.

What is the dispute about?

The jointly recognised Unite, GMB, and Unison trade unions, the JTU, have requested £3,000 for everyone in grades one to eight, and have not submitted any alternative proposal. This is well above inflation and simply unaffordable for Scottish Water as the business balances the need to invest in essential services and affordability for billpayers.

What impact will industrial action have and what are your contingency plans?

Scottish Water is putting in place contingency plans to protect essential services for customers ahead of planned industrial action by trade unions.
A senior management team is looking at all areas of Scottish Water activity that may be impacted by strikes.
We will do all we can to ensure customers do not experience any disruption to their water supplies and that treatment of the country’s waste water continues as usual, despite the planned industrial action.
A reliable water source is vital for everyone. Maintaining public health and protecting the environment are our priorities, and it is the responsible course of action for us to have contingency plans ready.

Is management behaving unreasonably? The trade unions' claim accuses Scottish Water of not being transparent and mispresenting things.

Scottish Water is a good place to work as supported by the latest staff surveys.
That is one of the reasons the business is disappointed with the decision by trade union leadership to pursue industrial action instead of continuing negotiations.  Since talks began, Scottish Water has made a number of improvements to its offer while the joint trades unions have yet to move from their starting position.

Why can’t you offer more to employees?

The new pay offer is comfortably above inflation, meaning it provides a real terms increase.  Scottish Water gets the vast majority of its revenues from customer charges and so it needs to balance affordability for households across the country with the need to invest in essential water and waste water services.  The company’s commitment to its hard-working staff is reflected in the fact that pay costs will have increased by 17% in the last two years if the latest pay award is accepted.

As it is publicly owned, why doesn’t Scottish Water follow the Scottish Government’s Pay Policy?

Scottish Water is included within the public sector pay policy and this sets strong expectations on levels of pay offers that can be made, including around the level of Chief Executive pay. However, where circumstances require, that policy can be flexed in direct consultation with the Scottish Government, and this is why we have been able to make our employees an above policy offer for 2024.

Will any of this adversely affect future pay claims?

Nothing in the proposal would limit pay claims and the negotiation of pay deals with our unions in future years.

Why does Scottish Water pay bonuses and who gets them?

The Scottish Government set out the pay and bonus structure at Scottish Water many years ago under the Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition, in order to make the company commercially competitive. The incentive structure was last reapproved by the Scottish Government in late 2020 for our current regulatory period, and bonuses for employees at all levels, related to the performance of the company, are part of that incentive. 

There have been some media reports of different expenses policies for executives and other employees - are these accurate?

No Scottish Water employee at any level can claim for alcohol as part of subsistence expenses incurred while on business travel or at any other time.  The rules on hospitality are specific to authorised events and again apply equally to employees at all levels.  Alcohol is allowed for hospitality so long as it has been approved in a similar way to all other expenses and signed off by a senior leader or director. This would typically mean a drink with a meal if one is provided as part of the event, to a value that is reasonable compared to the cost of the meal and in line with HMRC guidance.