Council staff in Scotland belonging to UNISON have voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest pay offer from local government employers, says the union today (Tuesday).
Thousands of staff employed by councils indicated they were unhappy with the latest pay proposal put forward by Cosla with 86% of those balloted choosing to reject, UNISON says.
The offer includes an hourly uplift of £0.67 or a 3.6% increase, whichever is higher.
However, the union says this falls short of expectations given the 25% real-terms pay cut over the past 14 years, and council workers in Scotland are angry their pay offer is not in line with other public service workers, many of whom have been given 5.5% pay rises.
UNISON has mandates for strike action by waste and recycling workers at 13 councils, and for education and early years staff at five councils.
The union’s local government committee, made up of senior stewards from across Scotland, will discuss next steps over the next few days.
UNISON Scotland local government committee chair Colette Hunter said: “Cosla and the Scottish government need to understand the anger among council staff. They want a fair increase to stop their pay consistently falling behind, and for their wage increase to be in line with other areas of the economy.
“The last thing anyone wants to do is go on strike, but local government workers deserve better. This result must be a wake-up call and get the employers and government to invest in local services and the staff who deliver them.”
UNISON Scotland co-lead for local government David O’Connor said: “Councils are in crisis. They struggle to recruit because workers are expected to deliver even more with fewer staff and lower wages. That puts workers and the services they provide under intolerable pressure. It’s unsustainable it can’t go on.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the largest union in local government. The union represent staff in education, local government, social care, NHS, police services, utilities, energy and the voluntary sector.
– Councils where UNISON has a mandate for strike action in waste, recycling and street cleaning: Clackmannanshire Council, Dumfries & Galloway Council, East Ayrshire Council, East Lothian Council, Fife Council, Glasgow City Council, Inverclyde Council, Midlothian Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Perth & Kinross Council, South Lanarkshire Council, Stirling Council and West Lothian Council, plus Cireco, an arms-length waste management specialist company.
-Councils where UNISON has mandates in schools and early years: Perth and Kinross, Shetland, Orkney, East Renfrewshire and Angus.
-Read COSLA’s full pay offer here