ABOUT 500 workers at Scottish Water will be balloted for industrial action after the company’s failure to make a “fair and decent” pay offer to its workers, Unite has warned.

Wastewater operatives, water treatment and burst repair operatives, maintenance engineers, electricians and sewage tanker drivers at the Scottish government-owned utility rejected a 3.4 per cent pay offer in October amid ongoing fury at “botched” regrading and soaring boardroom pay.

Despite the company planning to ramp-up water bills by 8.8 per cent from April and their executive team coining-in £227,000 in bonuses last year — including an £87,000 payment to the £246,000-a-year chief executive Alex Plant — they responded by upping the offer by £200.

Rejecting that offer outright, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Scottish Water has failed to make our members a fair and decent pay offer.

“Contrast this management snub with the eye-watering packages its executive team members are dishing out to themselves.”

Unite industrial officer Sam Ritchie warned that action could range from working to rule to a return to the strike action seen on 2023.

He said: “Scottish Water’s executive team appear too preoccupied with awarding themselves bonus and pension top-ups to make our members a decent pay offer.

“Unite has no option but to ballot our members on industrial action because Scottish Water is ignoring our members’ reasonable demands.

“To add insult to injury, there is a botched job evaluation process ongoing which is leading to many of our members losing pay through being downgraded.

“That is unacceptable and we will fight back against this culture of arrogance at Scottish Water.”

A Scottish Water spokesperson said they “believe that balloting for industrial action is premature.

“We encourage the unions to engage with us.”