TRADE UNIONS sensationally withdrew from a partnership working committee at a major Scottish council yesterday, the Star can exclusively reveal.

Shop stewards at West Dunbartonshire warned that a botched assault on facility time had “damaged industrial relations.”

Last week the SNP council was forced to back down on its plans to cut the number of council-funded posts for union conveners.

In a memo to council bosses on Thursday, conveners from Unison, Unite, the GMB and EIS acknowledged that “common sense prevailed” at “the eleventh hour,” but said they were “aggrieved” at the handling of the dispute.

They said the council’s actions had damaged its partnership agreement with unions.

While reps would now resume attending joint consultative forum meetings for collective bargaining, they will boycott the council’s employee liaison group.

“We have been subject to lies, contradictions, slurs and our views ignored by both the administration and senior managers,” the conveners wrote.

“There has been a serious breach of trust which will take time to resolve.”

Workers at neighbouring East Dunbartonshire council are in dispute over cuts to annual leave and redundancy benefits. Three quarters of GMB members voted to strike on a 97 per cent turnout.