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| Talks aim to avert water dispute | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Talks aimed at averting industrial action by Scottish Water staff are being held later. | |
| Management and union leaders are due to meet in Edinburgh aiming to reach an agreement in the dispute over pay. | |
| If no deal is made, members of the GMB, Unison and Unite unions will refuse to provide emergency standby cover from 1600 GMT until 5 January. | |
| Workers would normally be on standby to deal with bursts, flooding and sewer failures, the unions said. | |
| Scottish Water said it would have contingency plans in place. | |
| Festive break | |
| "We remain hopeful that we can reach some type of settlement but we're not there yet," said Unison's Dougie Black. | |
| "We've taken the opportunity to explore where both sides are and we are hopeful that we can make progress." | |
| A Scottish Water spokesman said all three unions would be at the meeting. | |
| "Talks are ongoing at this stage," he added. | |
| The action was announced on Tuesday following the breakdown of pay talks with senior managers. | |
| Scottish Water said it had hoped an enhanced offer of 3.75% would provide a way forward in the dispute. | |
| But Mr Black, regional organiser of Unison Scotland, insisted only 2% of the 3.75% figure was guaranteed. |