Workers at Scottish Water have accepted an 8% pay rise. The increase will also be applied to all overtime, call out and standby rates worked since April 2023.

There will be a further reduction in the working week to 35 hours without loss of pay to be implemented in November 2024. The wage deal was backed by 98% of the 500 Unite members in a consultative ballot.

Sharon Graham Unite general secretary said:

“Let’s be clear this deal only came about through the determination of our members to fight for a better deal through strike action.

“Unite is once again showing why we are leading the fight to improve the jobs, pay and conditions for workers.”

Unite agreed to suspend its ongoing industrial action on 15 November in order to ballot its membership on the new pay offer proposed by the joint trade unions at the conciliation service Acas.

It was further agreed that the controversial new grading structure at Scottish Water would be decoupled and negotiated separately from the 2023 pay offer. The intention is to have reached agreement on the new structure no later than March 2024.

Unite regional coordinator Stevie Deans said:

“Unite is pleased to have negotiated a new pay deal for 500 members at Scottish Water. There will be a minimum increase of eight per cent but we have managed to secure a number of significant improvements to the working conditions of our members.

“An important element of this deal was Scottish Water management belatedly agreeing to decouple the pay offer from any new grading structure. This was a key demand for us, and talks will continue on this issue.”