The union was responding to an announcement made on 22 March by seven council leaders who said that they were ready to agree 'deals broadly similar' to those already made to date. The statement was made by leaders from Glasgow, Edinburgh, North Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian, East Ayrshire and Fife.
Joe di Paola, Unison's Scottish organiser for local Government, said, 'I am saying to these councils, that in the absences of any approach from the Convention for Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) we are happy to sit down with all of them as one separate group to find a Scottish settlement. If this is a serious approach and not just an attempt to steal a few headlines, we are happy to meet them and try to settle this dispute.'
Speaking on behalf of CoSLA, councillor Frank Russell said, 'This statement shows the determination in all councils to end this dispute and we would encourage Unison to respond in a positive manner. It is Unison who are preventing local settlements.'
Angela Lynes, chair of Unison's negotiators, said, 'We want to talk to them about what local deals they were going to match. After all, there have been 11 separate deals and more offers. If they can all find the money for "broadly similar deals", then we want to know what this would be "broadly similar" to.'