Industrial action will hit public services hardBy Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor
NEARLY 20,000 civil servants are planning a Scotland-only "summer of discontent" after the breakdown of crucial pay talks in Edinburgh last week.
Public services and the criminal justice system could be paralysed if first minister Alex Salmond doesn't increase the pay of his own staff by 6%.
The standoff, which will see the main civil service unions ballot their members for strike action within a fortnight, could see the Scottish government shut down for 48 hours within weeks.
It comes as a teaching union agreed to ballot its members for industrial action over what it regards as education budget cuts.
The row follows the breakdown of civil service pay talks in the capital last week.
The key unions involved - the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), Prospect and the FDA which represents senior civil servants - are said to want a 6% pay rise for their 15,000-plus members.
However, the Scottish government is said to be sticking to "tight" spending plans by offering a 2% rise.
Union bosses are furious with Salmond and finance secretary John Swinney for apparently sticking to what they describe as "Gordon Brown's spending plans".
The 2% rise is contained in Swinney's public sector pay guide, published earlier this year, but which the unions say makes no provision for Scottish flexibility.
The unions walked out of last Thursday's meeting and are now drawing up plans to ballot their members for a strike.
The PCS Scottish government executive committee is expected this week to rubber-stamp plans for a ballot within a fortnight, with a two-day strike being pencilled in for July.
A source close to the talks said: "Scotland is facing the prospect of up to 20,000 civil servants going on strike because the government is not prepared to give them a fair pay rise. It is shaping up to be a summer of discontent.
"It is outrageous to be offered a rise that is less than inflation when our members are the people who are suffering from the jump in inflation. Swinney and Salmond are basically enforcing Gordon Brown's pay deal."
The row is significant as the planned industrial action would be the first Scotland-only strike of civil servants in history.
It would involve thousands of workers under the control of Scottish ministers, as well as court employees, and staff working for procurators fiscal. A strike would result in criminal trials being cancelled and the smooth running of public services being disrupted.
In a similar vein, the Educational Institute of Scotland passed a motion last week stating that teachers should "organise a campaign strategy to oppose cuts, including ballots for industrial action".
PCS Scottish secretary Eddie Reilly said: "We stand ready to return to negotiations in order to resolve the pay impasse, but if they are not prepared to treat their own workforce fairly then we are prepared to take industrial action."
A spokesperson for Swinney said: "The parameters set down by the Treasury are unavoidable, but the Scottish government has introduced two key points of difference and improvement.
"First, public sector pay policy for Scotland, as agreed by John Swinney, is already more flexible than the policy which applies south of the Border.
"And crucially, of course, we have the commitment which is unique to Scotland of no compulsory redundancies - a position which is deeply appreciated by Scottish government staff.
"The Scottish government has held informal meetings with the trades unions, and we are obviously keen to hold further discussions to reach agreement."
