Dundee’s SNP councillors have been accused of failing in their civic duty to protect the city from budget cuts.
The SNP administration is planning a series of above-inflation hikes to service charges in a bid to offset a £23 million black hole in their budget for 2016-17.
The cuts are the result of Finance Secretary John Swinney’s local government settlement, which will cut council funding by £500m in real terms.
Dundee City Council is one of the worst affected, with its revenue budget slashed by 5.5%, leaving it to find £23m in savings.
Richard Whyte, regional officer for the Unite trade union, said SNP councillors are putting their party before their city.
In a letter to The Courier, Mr Whyte says: “The city’s SNP administration apparently accept the crisis in service provision and loss of jobs that this represents and make no representations on behalf of the city.
“It is an abandonment of self-proclaimed anti-austerity and an abject failure in civic duty.”
Mr Whyte said many Dundonians who voted Yes in the 2014 independence referendum would feel betrayed by the administration.
He said: “Last year, I along with friends and family voted Yes in a referendum in common with the majority in the City of Dundee.
“We did so because we shared a vision of a better Scotland, a better future.
“What reward has Scotland’s so-called ‘Yes’ city had?”
Mr Whyte also said the financial straitjackets being imposed on councils is the worst in living memory.
Councillor Willie Sawers, the SNP’s finance spokesman, said: “I welcome that many trade unionists along with thousands of Dundee people voted Yes in the 2014 referendum.
“Richard Whyte questions why the city council still faces budget cuts.
“The answer is due in part to the fact that a Yes majority was not achieved across Scotland, and Scotland continues to suffer at the hands of an austerity-obsessed Westminster Government.
“One aspect of the budget settlement that has been neglected is the additional £250m for health and social care.
“One of the outcomes of this additional funding is that around 40,000 care workers across Scotland will have their pay increased from the national minimum wage to the living wage, putting thousands of pounds into the pockets of low-paid workers.”