SNP councillors vetoed a bid by local authority leaders to ask John Swinney for more money for public sector staff, The Herald understands.

At a meeting of council bosses in June, Labour members put forward a proposal that would have seen Cosla seek a joint meeting with the Scottish Government to request additional funding to avoid “disruptive and avoidable strikes” by waste and recycling staff.

It would also have seen a revised one-year offer from 1 April 2024 of 3.2%. 

The proposal was backed by the Conservatives. However, SNP and independent council leaders voted it down.

READ MORE: Union leaders warn of 'rubbish piling up in streets' after strike vote

Instead, unions were offered an 18-month deal which would give council staff a 2.2% uplift from April this year, with a further 2% hike in October.

That was rejected by members of the GMB, Unite and Unison, triggering the possibility of waste workers walking out in around 25 of the country’s councils, and mounds of rubbish littering the streets.

On Thursday, in a bid to see off looming industrial action, and ahead of pay talks today, Cosla offered the unions the 3.2% rejected by the SNP and independents last month.

However, there is no new money and councils will be expected to fund the hike from their own coffers.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, told The Herald the revised offer would be discussed in detail at the talks today but said the refusal of some council leaders to seek the support of ministers exposed a worrying lack of urgency.

He said: “We have been clear from the start that a joint approach involving the councils, the unions and Scottish ministers was demanded to reach a fair agreement swiftly.

"It is disappointing to learn some council leaders were apparently keener to protect their relationship with colleagues at Holyrood than take action to resolve this dispute and halt disruptive and avoidable strikes.

“We hear a lot about partnership but, while the unions and council leaders agree on the need for funding, they have refused to support a joint meeting with ministers to detail the urgent and escalating need for support.

"We will discuss this new offer today but are now halfway through the year and our members are still waiting for their work to be fairly recognised and people across Scotland still face disruption of crucial, frontline services.

“Our members and every user of council services in Scotland, and that is every one of us, deserves to know the leaders of our local authorities are doing - and have done - everything possible to pay staff fairly and protect services.”

READ MORE: Bin strikes planned at more than half of Scotland’s councils

Stephen McCabe, the Labour leader of Inverclyde Council, said he welcomed the revised one-year deal now on the table from COSLA.

He said the surprise council tax freeze - announced by former first minister Humza Yousaf without any consultation with local authorities - had left Scotland’s town halls cash-strapped.

He added: “Councils are in a financial crisis and this offer is more than most councils, including Inverclyde, have budgeted for. If we had not been forced into implementing a regressive council tax freeze, we would have been in a position to make a better pay offer to staff, which may have avoided this dispute.

"I warned at the time the council tax freeze was imposed that it would have consequences for our pay negotiations with our trade unions. It gives me no satisfaction that I have proven to be right.

"The only way Councils can afford to improve the pay offer beyond 3.2% is if we receive additional funding from the Scottish Government, as we did in 2022 and 2023.”

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Liz Smith said: “This sums up the contempt SNP politicians at all levels have for cash-strapped councils.

“The public is very well aware already that SNP cuts have meant the closure of many vital day-to-day services in communities across Scotland, with many others on the brink.

“Those SNP politicians who blocked these calls must come clean as to why they simply fell in line with their party bosses.

“This continued shortfall in council funding looks set to lead to more discontent. There is talk of rubbish piling up on our streets again at a time when Scotland is playing host to many world-leading events.”

Cosla’s revised deal is slightly higher than the Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy, which proposes a rise of 3% for 2024-25.

The umbrella body said it was at the “absolute limit of affordability for councils, given the severe financial constraints local government is facing”.

Cosla resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann urged unions to put the offer to their members and suspend any strike action while they consider it.

Councillor Hagmann said: “This is for a 3.2% pay uplift at all pay points, for a one-year period of April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

“After listening to our trade union colleagues, the offer does not propose a change in the pay settlement date, which featured in our earlier offer.

“It is important to stress that this revised, fair offer is at the absolute limit of affordability for councils, given the severe financial constraints local government is facing.

“This strong offer is worth more than the first year of the Scottish Government’s current public sector pay policy.

“It is a strong, fair and credible pay offer, reflecting the high value council leaders place on the local government workforce and the invaluable work they do every day serving communities across Scotland.”

She said Cosla is committed to “reaching a speedy and mutually agreeable resolution to pay discussions”.

READ MORE: Union threatens repeat of 2022 Edinburgh bin strikes

Graham McNab of Unite confirmed the union had received the new formal pay offer, saying: “It is welcome that Cosla has finally ditched the unacceptable proposal to change the pay anniversary date from April to October.”

He added: “We are clear that the present situation, whereby Unite has a strike mandate across 16 councils in waste and cleansing services, would not have developed if Cosla had properly and seriously engaged with the trade unions at a far earlier stage.

“Whether the new offer is judged to be a significant improvement will be considered by our local government representatives this coming Monday July 22 at an emergency meeting in Glasgow.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Local government pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities as employers and unions – the Scottish Government has no formal role.

“While we respect workers’ rights, no one’s interests are served by industrial action, which will harm communities and people. The Scottish Government urges all parties involved to work together constructively and reach an agreement which is fair for the workforce and affordable for employers.”