PEACE broke out yesterday in the battle between life office Scottish Widows and the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF).
The rift between the pair - caused by the life office's decision to impose a pay settlement without consulting MSF - dominated Widows' annual meeting last week.
But the two sides went some of the way towards resolving their differences at a meeting held yesterday between Widows' human resources director, Alasdair MacIntyre, and MSF's national officer, Bill Walsh.
MSF agreed to accept the inflation-beating pay settlement already implemented from May 1, which it put at 4.7% and Widows' personnel manager, Bruce Alison, said was 4.75% plus #100.
MSF's Scottish officer, Willie Gibson, will meet with Alison tomorrow to discuss ''other elements'' of the pay and conditions claim which was submitted by the union but has so far gone unanswered by Widows.
Both Gibson and Alison expressed their belief yesterday that Widows and MSF could reach agreement on new collective bargaining procedures which were acceptable to both sides.
MSF said last week that about 2000 of Widows' 2500 employees were potentially within its bargaining unit and that it represented some 70% of these.
Speaking after yesterday's meeting, which he attended, Gibson said: ''We are pleased to be reassured by Scottish Widows' management team that their action (imposing the pay settlement) was not tantamount to derecognition of MSF.
''They gave us assurances that we will continue to have the relationship we have had for the past 20 years.''
Alison said: ''It was very useful to have had the meeting and we are happy to go forward with a view, on Wednesday, to see if we can tidy up the 1998 arrangements and, in the future, to come up with another agreement (on procedures for dealing with the MSF union) which are more appropriate to the present time.''
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