UNISON fair pay demonstration at COSLA meeting

UNISON are having a crunch meeting with COSLA leaders this morning, to press their case for fair pay for all local government workers, in Forfar.

UNISON members will be demonstrating outside the meeting to highlight the vital role they play in delivering services for local communities across Scotland, and to press COSLA to agree a fair pay deal for local government.

Last year the Scottish government agreed a bigger pay increase for teachers than that given to other local authority workers. UNISON understand this could happen again this year and have made it clear to COSLA that members will not put up with it.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON’s head of local government bargaining, said: “Local government staff deliver vital services educating children, caring for vulnerable people, cleaning and protecting our communities, and much more to serve the people of Scotland.

Local government has taken the brunt of austerity with job cuts across councils. Staff have also suffered a real terms pay loss of over 15% over past decade. Our local services are delivered by one team, and if COSLA really value the contribution that all their staff make they must ensure that everyone who works in local government gets a fair and decent pay rise.”

Notes for editors:

The meeting is at 10.30am 31st August 2018, Forfar Community Campus, Kirriemuir Road, Forfar

Unison is the largest trade union in local government, representing 80,000 members.

The Joint Trades Unions, representing the vast majority of the local government workforce on the Scottish Joint Council, submitted their pay claim in January 2018

Examples of the vital jobs local government staff do include: classroom assistants, additional support for learning workers, town planners, librarians, roads maintenance workers, bin collectors, clerical and admin staff, environmental health workers, early years workers, technicians, janitors, home carers.

Read more about our Pay Claim: www.unison-scotland.org/service-groups-and-sectors/local-government/local-government-pay2018

UNISON Contacts:
Johanna Baxter, UNISON Head of Local Government Bargaining: 07817 120 894 or j.baxter@unison.co.uk
Danny Phillips UNISON communications officer: 07944 664 110