Perth Unison bosses are demanding an investigation after accusing the council of deliberately trying to stir up anger against the controversial school strikes.
The trade union, heavily criticised over the divisive walkout, has launched an official complaint over the local authority’s social media strategy.
Unison say the council should not have posted “politically motivated” quotes by SNP council chief Grant Laing about the pay dispute.
In a letter obtained by The Courier, the trade union claims the council was culpable for failing to remove “countless abusive comments” on social media.
Unison says the local authority posted staff salary details which gave a “false impression” of what some employees were earning.
The trade union is also angry that when the council’s social media team did turn off comments, they noted that it was at Unison’s request.
“Our members believe all of the above were deliberate actions to create negativity towards those taking action and left them open to hate speech,” the letter reads.
Council chief Mr Laing told The Courier he had no plans to become embroiled in an argument with the union when contacted for comment.
Schools across Perth and Kinross shut for two weeks on October 21 after school support staff took industrial action.
The move was highly criticised for targeting First Minister John Swinney’s constituency.
Two other trade unions, Unite and GMB, had already agreed to a pay deal.
Mr Swinney said there was “no justification” for the strike and said his own son was among pupils being “singled out”.
Sources say the SNP leader was furious at the targeted industrial action.
We exclusively revealed how Unison was accused of using striking support staff to boost the salaries of well-paid council managers.
It was feared another strike would soon follow, but on November 8 Unison agreed to a deal with the Scottish Government and Cosla.
Insiders say the agreement was a chance for Unison to back down to stem further anger.
Perth and Kinross Council has detailed guidelines for social media usage.
Employees are expected to represent the local authority in a “positive manner”. Another section stresses the importance of monitoring comments.
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