Vital forensic experts and control room staff are locked in a game of “Russian roulette” with Police Scotland and could down tools over pay and conditions.
Members of the Unison trade union voted by 53% to 47% to reject a pay deal put forward by the force.
Documents leaked to The Courier reveal terms on offer included staff earning less than the Scottish living wage having their “salaries adjusted”, workers earning below £21,000 being given an extra £300 a month for a year, and everyone else receiving a 1% pay increase.
Gerry Crawley, a regional officer for the union, said: “Unison members have clearly rejected the offer made by the employer. Our members deserve their pay claim to be treated seriously and with respect.”
George McIrvine, police staff branch secretary, added: “This rejection clearly shows the strength of feeling amongst police civilian staff who are under constant pressure to perform whilst staff shortages are impacting on workplaces and staff wellbeing across Scotland.”
Both called for “meaningful negotiations” to begin immediately in an attempt to resolve the dispute, a call echoed by Police Scotland officials.
But one senior union source likened the dispute to a row involving workers in England and Wales, where planned strike action for last January was only avoided by an 11th hour deal.
Union members, including police community support officers and call handlers, had wanted a 3% pay rise instead of the 1% offered – the same numbers involved north of the border.
The walkout, which could have involved up to 30,000 workers, was eventually called off following an offer of a 2.2% rise.
The insider said: “Given Audit Scotland has said there is an £84 million black hole their hands are tied unless they go cap in hand to the Scottish Government.
“They won’t do that and, to me, the only option is imposition. It’s then a game of Russian roulette as we go back to members and who knows what they will decide to do?”
Concerns have also been raised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), which ruled in a report the SNP’s commitment to maintaining 1,000 additional police officers was unsustainable and had contributed to a collapse in police morale.
John Gillies, Police Scotland’s director of People and Development, said the force planned to meet union representatives in the coming weeks to try and thrash out a deal.
He added: “We recognise the valuable contribution of our staff and made an offer which rewards them with the maximum pay increase we are permitted to award as an organisation in the public sector.
“Whilst the offer was not accepted through our negotiating and consultative processes, we have given a commitment to the trade unions that we will meet again to formally respond in the next few weeks.”