Calamity Cosla
COSLA, the self-styled voice of Scottish local government, is in dire starts these days as a group of Labour-led councils breakaway to form a rival organisation.
Now this is daft if you ask me and reflects badly on both sides because this dispute has been rumbling along for years and is really about the Labour Party being knocked off its political perch.
Labour no longer calls the shots in local or national government and Labour councils are having to adjust to a new political map of Scotland where the SNP is in the ascendancy.
But even when Labour was running the show the party failed to impress and there is no better example than equal pay when Scotland's Labour-led councils, a Labour-led COSLA, a Labour-led Scottish Parliament (1999-2007) and a Labour-led Westminster (1997-2010) - all failed to deliver the goods.
So I wouldn't put much money on the Labour-led Local Government Partnership setting the heather alight and I predict that it won't be long before that group start fighting amongst themselves.
What puzzles me is why the trade unions don't have anything to say because in normal circumstances the unions would be strongly opposed to a fragmentation of national bargaining.
I do hope the unions are not compromised again over their political links with the Labour Party because that would be doing another great disservice to their members, which if you ask me is exactly what happened over equal pay.
Local authorities deliver householder services, from bin collections to road maintenance
Aberdeen City Council is expected to confirm that it is quitting the local government body Cosla to join a new rival group.
Three other councils are expected to follow after years of dissatisfaction with the local government organisation.
Glasgow, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire will join Aberdeen in a new Labour block of authorities, called the Scottish Local Government Partnership.
Cosla currently represents all 32 Scottish local authorities.
It acts on behalf of the councils when it comes to collective bargaining with government and other institutions.
How government money for councils is split is decided by Cosla.
Successive administrations in Aberdeen have argued that the city gets a poor deal in funding allocations from the Scottish government.
Aberdeen signalled its intention to leave last year, presenting Cosla with 12-months' notice.
On Wednesday, the Labour-led council in Aberdeen is expected to agree to leave and form a new negotiating group along with three other Labour councils.
Jenny Laing, leader of Aberdeen City Council, told BBC Scotland "We have felt for a long time that Aberdeen's voice was not being heard within Cosla.
"We've obviously got issues around our funding settlement, having been the lowest funded council in Scotland for some time.
"It is important for us, and me as a council leader, that we are getting that message across to Scottish government.
"We don't feel we can do that through Cosla and we are looking for other ways in which we can."
She will be the convener of the new four-council Labour block.
Fix from within
Ms Laing believes the move will give break-away local authorities a strong voice in negotiations.
She said: "I don't feel that Scottish government can prevent the four councils, which do represent 25% of the Scottish population, from being at that negotiating table.
"I would hope that they would see sense around that, they would understand that we need to be there, we need to have influence within that and I look forward to working with them on that basis."
SNP group leader on Aberdeen City Council, Graham Dixon, said the way to fix Cosla was from within.
He said: "What we will be losing is a great deal of expertise and a lot of other additional services that we get out of it.
"It is not a perfect organisation but it certainly is a lot better than we are going to do ourselves.
"This is going to cost us more money to leave. It is going to cost us money in terms of setting up new people to do jobs that already being done by other people.
"Overall I think Aberdeen is losing out from what really is just Labour having a knock-about with the Scottish government."
Cosla insisted it did not signal the end for its organisation and that the four were welcome to rejoin at any time.
Aberdeen City Council is expected to confirm that it is quitting the local government body Cosla to join a new rival group.
Three other councils are expected to follow after years of dissatisfaction with the local government organisation.
Glasgow, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire will join Aberdeen in a new Labour block of authorities, called the Scottish Local Government Partnership.
Cosla currently represents all 32 Scottish local authorities.
It acts on behalf of the councils when it comes to collective bargaining with government and other institutions.
How government money for councils is split is decided by Cosla.
Successive administrations in Aberdeen have argued that the city gets a poor deal in funding allocations from the Scottish government.
Aberdeen signalled its intention to leave last year, presenting Cosla with 12-months' notice.
On Wednesday, the Labour-led council in Aberdeen is expected to agree to leave and form a new negotiating group along with three other Labour councils.
Jenny Laing, leader of Aberdeen City Council, told BBC Scotland "We have felt for a long time that Aberdeen's voice was not being heard within Cosla.
"We've obviously got issues around our funding settlement, having been the lowest funded council in Scotland for some time.
"It is important for us, and me as a council leader, that we are getting that message across to Scottish government.
"We don't feel we can do that through Cosla and we are looking for other ways in which we can."
She will be the convener of the new four-council Labour block.
Fix from within
Ms Laing believes the move will give break-away local authorities a strong voice in negotiations.
She said: "I don't feel that Scottish government can prevent the four councils, which do represent 25% of the Scottish population, from being at that negotiating table.
"I would hope that they would see sense around that, they would understand that we need to be there, we need to have influence within that and I look forward to working with them on that basis."
SNP group leader on Aberdeen City Council, Graham Dixon, said the way to fix Cosla was from within.
He said: "What we will be losing is a great deal of expertise and a lot of other additional services that we get out of it.
"It is not a perfect organisation but it certainly is a lot better than we are going to do ourselves.
"This is going to cost us more money to leave. It is going to cost us money in terms of setting up new people to do jobs that already being done by other people.
"Overall I think Aberdeen is losing out from what really is just Labour having a knock-about with the Scottish government."
Cosla insisted it did not signal the end for its organisation and that the four were welcome to rejoin at any time.
