Our door is open, says Scottish Water as unions urged to ballot members on offer

The boss of Scottish Water has told MSPs the company’s “door is open” following strikes last week as unions were urged to put a pay offer to its members.

Workers walked out of the public body last week over a pay dispute, with management offering an increase of 3.4% or £1,400 for those on the lowest pay grades.

Speaking at the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, Scottish Water chief executive Alex Plant said the offer was “good, fair and progressive”, while stressing that utility firm had to ensure sustainability and value for money for customers.

“I would like this to be resolved, I want people to have money in their pocket,” he told MSPs.

“Our door is open, we want to get this resolved, we’ll meet any time with our union colleagues and it just is important we try to resolve this as quick as possible, and that is our focus.”

Mr Plant said he had not met with the unions around the pay dispute, which is being handled by other senior executives at the firm, but added “I really want to meet with the unions” to discuss the companies long term future.

“One of the things that I think has been disappointing is that the offer that’s before everybody has not actually been put to union members to consider, so the ballot that was taken around the principle of industrial action rather than the offer being put to union members for their assessment,” Mr Plant said.

While the company’s chief operating officer Peter Farrer said offers in the last decade to workers had been “comfortably over inflation”, while pay changes proposed in 2023 represented a “huge investment” in staff.

The original plans resulted in strike action proposed to last as long as 48 days over several months before an improved offer was made along with a commitment to further negotiation.

“This is a good offer… I would like to encourage the union leaders to put our refreshed offer in front of their members, because they haven’t put that offer in front of their members yet and get back around the table so we can have some meaningful negotiations as soon as possible,” Mr Farrer said.

Under questioning from Labour MSP Monica Lennon, Mr Plant denied the company had sent “anti-union” emails to staff.

“I don’t recognise that description, I understand that emotions can run high when you’re in a period of industrial action, but our communications have sought to be measured and factual and clear and focused on trying to find a way through and that’s where we still are,” he said.

Tricia McArthur, the Scottish Water branch secretary for trade union Unison, said: “The employer is trying to muddy the waters with a disingenuous pay offer.

“Our staff work hard to keep Scotland’s water clean so we know dirty tactics when we see them.

“Employees are sick of being taken for granted and underpaid, while their work is farmed out to private contractors, at even greater expense to the public.

“The pay packages for Scottish Water executives are eye-watering, while workers have suffered a decade of pay cuts and wages haven’t kept up with inflation. Staff deserve to be paid fairly for the vital services they deliver.”

The union also took issue with the offer from Scottish Water, claiming that it would mean an increase of 2.6% or £1,050, whichever is higher.

While Sam Ritchie, an industrial officer for Unite the union, said: “Unite has repeatedly requested that Alex Plant be directly involved in pay negotiations and in conciliation talks in an effort to find a resolution to the pay dispute.

“He has refused at every turn. It is completely disingenuous to suggest that the door is open because he’s locked and bolted it.

“Scottish Water executives seem more eager to feather their own nests than making our members a fair pay offer.

“Alex Plant knows that it will take an improved pay offer to resolve this dispute, if Scottish Water fail to do this, then it is they who are choosing to escalate this dispute.”

In a wide-ranging session, Scottish Water chair Deirdre Michie also defended the pay structure for senior managers at Scottish Water, including a base salary of £246,000 for Mr Plant, rising to £483,000 with benefits and pension contributions, according to a its 2024 annual report.

The chief executive, who joined the firm in May 2023, was also given £73,000 to relocate to Scotland after having worked for Anglian Water Services, £42,000 of which was for help with Land and Transactions Building Tax (LBTT) on the permanent home he bought.

“We are competing against private companies for the talent that we need to lead us, a very complex business,” she said.

“We’re one of the biggest public corporations in Scotland, that is performing well.

“Our benchmarking demonstrates that our executive salaries are actually among the lowest of any comparable companies in the UK.

“So we need to attract the talent with the skills and the experience to ensure that Scottish Water delivers the type of outcomes that you expect from us on a daily basis and for the longer term.”