COUNCIL workers have voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest pay offer from employers, Unison has announced.
The union said that 86% of those balloted rejected the latest offer from Cosla which includes an hourly uplift of £0.67 or a 3.6% increase, whichever is higher.
It means Unison has mandates for strike action by waste and recycling workers at 13 councils and for education and early years staff in five councils.
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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 areas where Unison has a mandate for strike action in waste, recycling and street cleaning include:
- Clackmannanshire
- Dumfries & Galloway
- East Ayrshire
- East Lothian
- Fife
- Glasgow City
- Inverclyde
- Midlothian
- North Lanarkshire
- Perth & Kinross
- South Lanarkshire
- Stirling
- West Lothian
Councils where Unison has mandates in schools and early years include:
- Perth and Kinross
- Shetland
- Orkney
- East Renfrewshire
- Angus
The offer was accepted by the GMB union, however, Unison recommended to members that they reject it.
The union said it “falls short of expectations” given the 25% real-terms pay cut over the past 14 years, and that “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”.
The union’s local government committee, made up of senior officials from across Scotland, will discuss next steps soon.
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.”
A Cosla spokesperson said: “We are deeply disappointed Unison have rejected our latest strong, above inflation, pay offer. This is the absolute limit of affordability for local government and exhausts all available funding from Scottish Government.
“Local government have a responsibility to ensure sustainable service delivery for communities. We are clear that increasing the value of any pay offer would have serious consequences. We remain concerned that Unison’s expectations cannot be met without further unpalatable difficult decisions.
“We are aware that communities will be concerned about the potential impact of industrial action on the most vulnerable. We would urge Unison to reconsider our strong offer which has an overall value of 4.27%.”
Cabinet secretary for finance and local government, Shona Robison (above), said: “While this Government respects Unison members’ decision, it is very disappointing.
“Thanks to £77.5 million of additional Scottish Government funding, the offer provides an above-inflation pay increase for all, with most workers receiving more than 4.0% and those on the lowest pay getting 5.63%. This offer is better than that made to local government workers in the rest of the UK.
“I am delighted GMB Scotland voted in favour of our fair, above-inflation offer which allows this hugely valued workforce to continue serving communities. I hope Unite members will to vote to accept.
“The Scottish Government has no formal role in pay negotiations although it will continue to work constructively with Cosla as efforts to secure a fair and affordable pay deal continue. Industrial action will serve no one and I would urge all parties to work together.”
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