Members of the largest union for local government workers, Unison Scotland, overwhelmingly voted to reject COSLA’s latest pay offer, with 90% of those who voted backing strike action.
In the ballot of Unison members, covering a range of local government roles including cleaners, refuse workers, carers and school staff, 87% rejected the pay offer, with 90% of them backing action to secure an improved deal.
The pay offer on the table depends on salary bands but was on average around 5.5%, going up to 7% into the next financial year. This falls short of the 12% being asked by the unions.
Unison’s local government committee has written to COSLA outlining the reasons for rejecting the deal. The union says the offer amounts to a real terms pay cut for their members, given the rate of inflation, and for those on the lowest pay, it falls short of the offer made to local government workers in other parts of the UK. The rejection comes shortly after members of another union, GMB Scotland, also turned down the pay deal.
COSLA leaders are meeting on Friday and are being urged to make an improved offer to prevent strike action.
Unison Scotland’s head of local government, Johanna Baxter, said: “Local government workers have overwhelmingly voted to reject COSLA’s pay offer and made it clear that they are willing to take strike action to get a better offer. It is disappointing that yet again UNISON members are having to consider withdrawing their labour in order to secure a decent pay rise – it’s the last thing they want to do but they continue to face a cost of living crisis and they have understandably had enough of being treated like the poor relations of the public sector.”
In response to the decision of the union ballots, COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Cllr Katie Hagmann said: “This strong offer clearly illustrates the value Councils place on their workforce, and it compares well to other sectors. It recognises the cost-of-living pressures on our workforce and critically, it seeks to protect jobs and services. This is a point that I will be reiterating to Council Leaders at our meeting tomorrow.
“While the offer value in year is 5.5%, the average uplift on salaries going into the next financial year is 7%. Those on the Scottish Local Government Living Wage would get 9.12% and those at higher grades, where Councils are experiencing severe recruitment challenges, would see 6.05%.
“It is an offer which recognises both the vital role of the people who deliver our essential services across Councils every day and the value that we, as employers, place on them. Crucially, it also raises the Scottish Local Government Living Wage by 99p to £11.84 per hour and sets out a commitment to work with our Trade Unions to develop a road map to £15 per hour in a way that protects our workforce and services we deliver.”
