Council unions hoping for delayed pay offer

Scottish council unions are hoping they will finally get a delayed pay offer from employers later.

Staff have still not received the pay rise they should have got in April.

The three big council unions are warning of strikes later in the summer if the issue is not resolved.

Council workers have gone on strike twice in the past two years over pay.

The pay offer would cover virtually all Scottish council workers apart from teachers.

The people affected would range from office staff to refuse collectors and from librarians to school catering staff.

Three main unions are involved in pay negotiations with councils - Unison, Unite and the GMB.

The indications are that the pay rise on offer will be in the region of 2% - or 39p an hour for the lowest paid.

However, councils have indicated they may be able to offer more if the increase is tied to other employment matters.

It seems likely though that the offer will be well below the hopes of the three unions.

They want an offer which keeps up with the rises in the cost of living since April last year.

Unison Scotland's local government committee chair, Colette Hunter, said: “Council staff should have received a cost of living pay rise last month. But the offer is miles away from the level staff deserve.

“There seems no other option but to begin strike ballots. Workers aren’t willing to put up with long delays.

“Council waste and recycling staff will receive official strike ballots through the post very soon. Unless Cosla comes up with a fair pay offer it looks like strikes will be going ahead.”

There was no public comment from council body Cosla ahead of the offer.

Pay is negotiated at a national level and any pay offer has to be affordable to all 32 councils.

Last week, a report from the Accounts Commission highlighted the financial pressures facing councils.

A third of councils said the money they received from the Scottish government did not fully fund the latest council tax freeze.

Many council workers went on strike over pay in 2022 and 2023.

The 2022 strike led to the rubbish piling up in Edinburgh city centre during the first normal Edinburgh Festival since the pandemic.

Last year's strike caused school closures.

However the workers called out on strike were taking action on behalf of virtually all council workers - not just those in their own jobs.

These strikes were only resolved when the Scottish government made money available to help councils improve their pay offer.

Many in the unions believe the government will need to get involved this year too and would urge them to step in early to help avoid strikes.