Bin strikes to continue as UNISON recommend members reject offer

Members of UNISON, Scotland's largest local government union, have been recommended to reject the latest pay offer from council body COSLA.

Meanwhile Unite the Union has outright rejected the latest offer.

They've gone as far as to criticise it as 'a waste of precious time'.

That means strikes will continue during the consultation phase.

The first wave of strike action will end tomorrow morning in Edinburgh, but other council areas will continue.

Strikes across 20 council areas are planned for a second wave early next month.

The latest pay offer was received this morning, and includes the following elements:

• A minimum pay uplift of £1925, based on a 37 hour working week, which matches the offer made to Local Government south of the border. However, in Scotland only part of this payment will be consolidated into council workers ongoing pay, the rest will be delivered via one-off payments.

• Those earning less than £20,500 – around 1 in 5 of the council workforce – will receive a pro-rata gross pay increase in 2022 equal to £2,000.

• The removal of SSSC fees for all roles and grades where applicable, including social workers and social care workers among others.

• One additional day's leave for all.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government, said: “UNISON negotiators have worked day and night to find a solution to this crises. We welcome the contribution the Scottish Government have made to date and COSLA’s commitment to scrapping SSSC fees, their agreement to a one-off cost-of-living increase, and additional day's leave.

"However as we have repeatedly told them both the size of the current cost envelope is simply not big enough to deliver a decent consolidated wage rise for the majority of our members.

“UNISON’s local government committee met this morning and confirmed that strike action will continue while we consult our members on this latest offer. Council workers are struggling to cope with the cost-of-living crisis after ten years of austerity.

Bin Strikes in the Capital

"This is another pay cut they simply cannot afford, which is why we are recommending they reject the offer and continue with the action already planned to try to secure a bigger consolidated sum.”

Unite industrial officer Wendy Dunsmore, said: “Unite has rejected outright the latest pay offer from COSLA. The structure of the offer continues to disproportionately and unfairly effect the lowest paid with the majority of those being women. In real terms it leaves the lowest paid workers no better-off and a significant proportion of the offer does not enhance overtime, allowances or pensions.”

“The offer remains unacceptable and it represents a waste of precious time. We understand the gravity of the situation across the country but equally our members are facing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation. Unite’s strike action remains scheduled for next week unless COSLA gets back to us with a credible offer which addresses our primary concerns.”

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said:

“A flat rate award is a key demand from unions to ensure more consolidated money goes into the pockets of frontline workers and not the highest paid in our councils. COSLA knew this but instead tabled this offer as an across-the-board percentage rise that only feathers the nests of service directors.

“This was unacceptable to our local government committee members. It’s not credible that in the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years, and with inflation and energy bills soaring, a head of service gets four times the consolidated increase than a bin collector, cleaner or carer.

“That’s why we have written to COSLA again this evening urging them to return to talks as soon as possible and to negotiate a new offer based on a flat rate increase. If they don’t do this, then when our committee reconvenes tomorrow, we will outline our plans to fully consult GMB members.”

Commenting on news of trades unions putting a revised pay offer to their members recommending it is declined, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“Intensive discussions between the trades unions and COSLA over recent days has led to a revised pay offer being made.

“That offer would see the Scottish Government providing a further £200 million over two years – in addition to the £140 million of additional funding already announced – to provide a Cost of Living Payment to local authority workers earning below around £39,000.

“Combined with the pay uplift itself, that would mean someone earning £20,000, for example, will receive a £2,000 increase in take home pay – equivalent to 10%.

“Everyone under £39,000 would receive the Cost of Living Payment ensuring their increase is at least £1,925 and it is only those above £39,000 that would just get 5%.

“No deal is perfect and I wish we could go further but this deal does offer significant increases for those on low pay. We must now respect the democratic trade union processes underway while we hope that members decide to accept the offer.”

Major clean-up begins in Edinburgh

A major clean-up operation has begun in Edinburgh as waste and cleansing services resume after nearly two weeks of strike action by workers.

The city's waste workers walked out on August 18 in a dispute over pay, but returned to work on Tuesday in the Scottish capital where huge piles of rubbish have accumulated in many streets.

The strike was timed to coincide with Edinburgh's festival season, and spread to around two thirds of other council areas.

Strikes in other areas end later this week, however another wave of industrial action in cleansing and education sectors will go ahead in many parts of the country next week after unions on Monday rejected the latest "unacceptable" offer from local authorities.

Hundreds of schools will close over three days as education staff, including early years, join the strike action.

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