Joe Di Paola, Scottish organiser for the public services union Unison, which is representing the nursery nurses, said, 'Rather than playing silly games, the council would be better going back to Cosla to re-open talks at a Scottish level.' He said the offer from the city council was 'virtually the same' as one already rejected by nursery nurses.
In a letter to Glasgow nursery nurses, Ronnie O'Connor, the city council's director of education services, said, 'The council is very keen to resolve the dispute at a local level. Cosla and our own elected members have made it absolutely clear that there will not be a nationally negotiated agreement that is sought by Unison.'
The letter, which stated that the council's proposed settlement is based on a 35-hour week compared with 37 hours a week elsewhere in Scotland, asked nursery nurses 'whether you would welcome an early discussion at local level to try to reach a resolution'.
Carol Ball, chair of Unison's Scottish Nursery Nurses Working Party, condemned the council for 'going behind the backs of the union'. She said, 'I am encouraging members to respond to let the council know how they feel and that they will only accept national negotiations through their elected representatives and a national resolution to the dispute.'
A Cosla spokesman said four councils - Aberdeen, South Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross and Shetland - had now reached local agreements, leaving 28 local authorities still locked in dispute with nursery staff. He described the employers' offer of a maximum of 18,000 - 9.33 an hour - as 'generous'. Unison is seeking a minimum starting salary of 18,000.
Ms Ball said that as a result of the local settlements, nursery nurses in Aberdeen would now be paid 1,000 a year more than those in South Lanarkshire, confirming Unison's view that only national negotiations could prevent such pay differentials.
Unison plans a demonstration and rally in Dundee today (11 December) and a meeting of branch delegates on 16 December to discuss further action.