Unions reject councils’ pay offer
Scottish members of two trade unions have voted to reject a pay offer from councils, raising the prospect of strike action.
A ballot of GMB members returned 93% against accepting the offer put forward by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) while Unite Scotland voted 83% against, with 80% backing industrial action.
The two unions represent about 34,000 local government members.
They have requested the intervention of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in the dispute.
COSLA has offered an £800 increase for staff earning under £25,000, a 2% uplift for those earning £25,000 to £40,000 and a 1% rise for those earning up to £80,000.
Unite s Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: ‘Unite has received an overwhelming mandate to move forward with an industrial action ballot from our members in local government.
Dumfries and Galloway Council workers on collision course with local authority over pay deal
Unison members could be set for strike action over the deal offered by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Mark Ferguson, chairman of Unison Scotland’s Local Government Committee. (Image: Paisley Daily Express)
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Unison advise council workers in West Lothian to take up strike action
The union asks the workers to reject pay offer and are consulting members on strike action
Updated
Picture by staff photographer Stuart Vance
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Council workers in West Lothian have been recommended to reject the latest pay offer and take strike action.
Unions reject Scots pay offer
Trade unions in Scotland have formally rejected employers’ pay offer of an £800 lower-rate pay rise for 2021, dismissing the sum as an unacceptably poor response to staff efforts during COVID-19.
In a statement issued just before the Easter break, the Joint Trade Unions body said the offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) fell well short of the £2,000 flat rate (or 6% increase) staff bodies had demanded. The three main unions – Unison, GMB and Unite – will now ballot their members to take action to secure an improved offer.
But Cosla has defended its offer as affordable, given the ongoing town hall austerity due to the pandemic.