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Public service union Unison has hit out at plans by local government employers to end the right to go to arbitration if pay talks break down, writes Jonathan Pearce.

Unison has said it will oppose the proposals because they would undermine negotiations and set the scene for a "big set-piece national dispute".

In a letter to council chief executives, the Employers' Organisation for Local Government said it had decided to open talks with the unions in order to remove "the right for either side to refer a failure to agree to Acas arbitration".

"Unilateral arbitration as it stands is making the negotiating process artificial and is unsustainable," says the letter. Employers want the framework for negotiations to be changed "so that either side may call upon Acas to help in a dispute, but that neither side can force the other to arbitration against their will".

Unison, which represents 800,000 of the 1.3 million local government workers. has objected to the proposals.

"The arbitration clause in our national agreement has never been used. However, the threat that either party can refer a matter to arbitration concentrates minds," said Unison head of local government Malcolm Wing.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting on 23 October, but the Employers' Organisation letter gives the employers' perspective on the recently completed 2001 pay talks. It says that the government decision to increase pay significantly in the NHS put the employers in "an awkward position". And it adds that although the local government settlement was "far from excessive", many councils had trouble affording it and were predicting cuts in services.

The letter also reveals a split among employers with those in larger urban authorities, particularly in the North, believing that the 3 per cent award was too high while others feel it was the minimum necessary to avoid a major dispute.

The Employers' Organisation also points to the increasing gap between local government pay levels and those in the private sector. "This is not the best platform for persuading the workforce to improve continuously," it says.

The Local Government Association has been asked to join the Employers' Organisation in lobbying the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

In Scotland, reporters to the children's panel are threatening strike action after 95 per cent voted to reject a 2.5 per cent pay increase. Unison members are seeking an 8 per cent increase and are said to be "frustrated and fed up". They were angered by claims that low staff turnover showed they were happy with pay and conditions.