Strikes to go ahead, as latest council pay offer turned down
Strike action will be going ahead, after Unions turned down the latest 3.5% pay offer to Council workers
Last updated 15th Aug 2022
The latest pay offer made to Council has been rejected.
COSLA (The umbrella organisation for local authorities) upped their offer to a 3.5% pay increase on Friday (August 12th).
That was after the Scottish Government granted them more cash to do so.
But today Unions have turned it down, branding it "nowhere near good enough".
This means strike action will go ahead later this month across various local authorities.
They claim both the Scottish Government and COSLA agree the offer isn't enough, but that they are both at "logger heads" on who should produce the cash to pay for an enhanced one.
Johanna Baxter from UNISON said: “This is another derisory pay offer. We are in a ridiculous position of both our employers and the Scottish Government agreeing this 3.5% pay offer is not nearly enough, but both are at logger heads about who should pay for it.
"Meanwhile council workers – over half earn less than £25k per year - are worrying about paying the bills. Inflation is predicted to rise to 13.5% and our members are offered a real-terms pay cut which will plunge more of them into debt.
"We have written to COSLA to tell them the strike continues in waste and recycling and we will confirm dates for strike action in schools and early years in the coming days.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s local government representatives have rejected the paltry offer of 3.5% from COSLA. The offer is nowhere near good enough.
"Council leaders across Scotland including Edinburgh and Glasgow are publicly on the record acknowledging this reality so why should our members even consider it. We make no apologies for standing up for our members because they deserve better than what they are getting from the politicians.
"Unite will always defend the jobs, pay and conditions of its members.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:
“We are disappointed that despite providing an extra £140 million of Scottish Government funding on a recurring basis to support a higher pay award for council staff – more than half the amount COSLA asked for in order to make a 5% offer – local government has only offered a 3.5% increase, which has now been rejected by the workforce.
“As the employers, these pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities and unions - the Scottish Government has no formal role. We urge COSLA to urgently reconsider its position and match the Scottish Governments additional £140 million that would be required to increase the pay offer to 5%.
“The Scottish Government must balance a fixed budget with very significant competing demands as a consequence of the cost of living crisis and the inaction of the UK Government. The main tax levers are set for the whole year and cannot be changed. With no power to borrow for this spend, the extra £140 million has got to come from somewhere else within the budget and no more funding can be offered.“
We've asked COSLA for comment.