WORKERS at Scottish Water began a 24-hour strike today and warned of more to come if bosses fail to table a “fair” pay offer.

Unite, Unison and GMB Scotland members at the Scottish government-owned company defied the wind and torrential rain to picket Scottish Water’s offices in Edinburgh, Inverness, Stirling and Dundee, as well as at waste water treatment works in Govan, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

The latest action comes after months of dispute between unions and management over a pay offer worth 3.4 per cent, or £1,050 for those on the lowest grades of pay, over a nine-month period.

Soaring executive pay at the organisation, with chief executive Alex Plant coining in a total remuneration package of £483,000 on top of his reported £249,000-a-year salary, and total executive remuneration soaring to £1.15 million in 2024 — up from £854,000 in 2023 — has only added to workers’ frustration.

Unison regional organiser Emma Phillips said: “The pay offer is not enough.

“It’s below inflation, once again, from Scottish Water and this is at the same time that senior management are getting massive pay rises.

“They use Scottish Water as their own piggy bank to make themselves rich and don’t give any of their staff a decent pay rise.

“If Scottish Water do not change their mind there will be further strike action.”

Speaking at the picket line at Govan’s Sheildhall waterworks, Unite Scottish Water convener Riki Hill said: “This is initial action and if they don’t get around the table this could be a sustained strike.

“They [workers] feel like they have been treated very unfairly, they feel as if they are worthless.

“The offer, again, is one of the lowest in the public sector and it’s, again, well below the average wage earnings for 2024.”

GMB Scotland organiser Claire Greer said: “We are now at a point where our members are looking for action.

“The only way to get Scottish Water’s attention at the moment is to make them realise how much work our members do.

“So the withdrawal of labour is where we are today.

“We’re looking for an honest offer for an honest day’s work for our members who make sure that Scotland’s water keeps flowing through our pipes.”

A Scottish Water spokesperson inisted their offer was a “good deal,” saying: “No-one benefits from industrial action and our focus is on continuing to deliver for our millions of customers across Scotland.”