UNISON Scotland has called for a above-inflation pay increase for local government workers as it submitted its 2024/25 joint pay claim.
The unions – UNISON and Unite – submitted the claim earlier this year, although COSLA leaders are unlikely to respond before their budget allocations are finalised. UNISON has made it clear we want a deal agreed as close to the April 1, 2024 implementation date as possible.
Local government workers are continuing to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis and UNISON has warned there is a real risk that workers will find better-paid, less-stressful work elsewhere if their pay continues to lose its value.
UNISON says that an above-inflation pay increase is the only way to maintain the staff levels necessary to deliver services to the public, looking after the most vulnerable, giving children the education they need and keeping neighbourhoods safe.
The key elements of UNISON’s claim are:
A one-year settlement that runs for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
For those on the lowest pay – an above-inflation increase in line with the aspiration, agreed with UNISON in November 2023, to achieve implementation of a minimum rate of pay for all local government workers of £15 per hour by 1 April 26.
An increase of 7% to all spinal column points (or an increase of £1.60 to the hourly rate whichever is greater) and related allowances.
Urgent progress to be made on how we achieve a no detriment reduction in the working week to enable members to achieve a better work-life balance.
A review of the scope and level of the Distant Islands Allowance.
No less than parity with other local government bargaining groups.
Lilian Macer, UNISON’s Scottish Secretary, said: “An above-inflation wage rise is the only way to maintain the staff levels necessary to deliver services to the public. Unless councils and schools can pay competitive rates, employees will find better-paid, less-stressful work elsewhere and new recruits will be thin on the ground.
“Our members tell us how every day how they are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and how they are struggling to make ends meet. Local government workers must be properly rewarded for the vital services they provide.
UNISON have signed a joint letter with Cosla and other unions to the Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison MSP, saying it is clear to both employers and unions “that funding levels for councils have not kept pace with increased demand for services.”
They say “Local Government is facing a cut in real terms to both core revenue and capital budgets. As a proportion of funding allocated to the Scottish Budget, the percentage for local government has declined.”
And that “this is impacted by both the growing need of services due to demographic pressures and the ongoing cost of living crisis.”
It is in everyone’s interest to achieve a sustainable settlement on pay at the earliest opportunity.
The letter states: “Scottish Local Government settlements must be sustainable alongside the significant budget challenges facing councils and it is vital that the approach to our workforce is fair, acknowledging the essential front-line services that are delivered every day.”
UNION CALLS FOR ACTION FOLLOWING ALARMING WORKPLACE SURVEY
New survey data from UNISON’s recent research among Edinburgh City Council workers sheds light on the challenges faced by school support staff, echoing the findings of the Scottish government’s Behaviour in Scottish schools: research report 2023.
UNISON Edinburgh City Branch emphasises that the impact of pupils’ behavioural challenges is disproportionately falling on the shoulders of support staff, who are often the lowest paid and receive minimal training and support.
The violence at work survey, conducted among our members, saw the highest response rate from staff working in schools with 82% of respondents in that area. The Edinburgh Branch survey indicated a need for clearer reporting procedures and improved feedback mechanisms to ensure member concerns are addressed promptly and effectively.
The return aligns with the government’s findings, revealing that 86% of support staff encounter low-level disruptive behaviour daily. Additionally, 66% experience verbal abuse, and 59% face physical aggression on a regular basis. This supports what UNISON members have been telling us – the lowest-paid support staff, mainly women, are the frontline responders to challenging pupil behaviour.
Pauline Henderson, UNISON Edinburgh Convenor for education, stated: “No one should face violence and abusive behaviour at work, and if they do, they need proper support.
“Yet, in our schools in Edinburgh, it is the lowest-paid, mostly women support staff who deal with challenging and disruptive behaviour every day.”
“UNISON stresses that support staff are more likely than teachers to report the greatest negative impacts from serious disruptive behaviours”.
Tom Connolly, UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch Secretary, emphasised UNISON’s consistent advocacy on the issue: “UNISON has consistently raised violence and abuse of school support staff with employers and the government.
“Now that we have evidence backing up this growing problem, we need government funding and action to help schools deal with it.”
“More than half of the respondents (57.6%) feel their employer does not take violence at work complaints seriously. Addressing this perception is crucial for fostering a supportive and protective workplace culture.”
Key Points from UNISON Edinburgh City Survey:
Daily Challenges for Support Staff:
66% experience verbal abuse, and 59% encounter physical aggression regularly.
Comparisons with Government Report:
UNISON’s survey findings align with the Scottish government’s report, emphasising the universal nature of challenges faced by support staff.
Impact on Support Staff:
Support staff report the greatest negative impacts from serious disruptive behaviours, underlining the urgent need for comprehensive support and strategies.
Call for Edinburgh City Council Action:
Urgent action is needed to protect council staff. UNISON continues to advocate for enhanced reporting, substantial local authority investment, and comprehensive support for all council staff.
Call for Government Action:
UNISON Edinburgh City urges the Scottish government to recognise the inadequacy of current council funding and take substantial action to address the challenges outlined in both the survey and the government report.
UNISON has served notice of further strike action in the dispute over local government pay to South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife councils.
Staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools, within the four local authorities will walk out on Wednesday 8th November.
This is the second week of a rolling programme of action that will take place, says UNISON, with further strike dates and other councils being announced in due course.
UNISON have already notified Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde councils, that staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools will be taking strike action next Wednesday (1st November).
The move comes after UNISON members voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer. More than 21,000 workers represented by the union took three days of strike action in September, resulting in the closure of 75% of Scotland’s schools.
UNISON Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter said: “Despite our repeated calls for Cosla and the Scottish government to get back round the table for meaningful discussions we have had no invitations to even exploratory talks.
“The union is committed to reaching a resolution to this dispute as soon as possible. And there is still time for Cosla and the Scottish Government to get back round the negotiating table to explore every avenue to reaching a negotiated settlement and avoid further disruption for parents and students.
The strength of feeling amongst UNISON’s 91,000 local government members, who voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer, is clear. They are determined to continue to fight to get an improved pay offer.”
UNISON Scotland chair of the local government committee Mark Ferguson said: “No one takes the decision to strike lightly.
“I’m a parent myself, so I understand the disruption strikes cause. But if wages don’t rise, school staff will leave for other jobs beyond education that pay significantly more. That would be a disaster and would help no one.
“The current offer amounts to a real-terms pay cut and adds further stress to a dedicated workforce already suffering from the cost-of-living crisis.
“Cosla and the Scottish government need to give school staff a decent wage rise, fund any increase properly and commit to implementing a minimum underpinning rate of pay of £15 per hour for all local government workers.”
A statement from Unison Scottish Local Government Branch:
‘The results of our consultative ballot on COSLA’s latest pay offer are now in.
‘Our members have spoken loudly & clearly. We urge all parties to get back round the negotiating table with us to thrash out a deal to avoid further disruption in schools across Scotland.’
Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson, said: “Obviously this ballot result from UNISON is very disappointing given the strength of the offer on the table.
“I would like to make the following points:
“Firstly, Scotland’s Council Leaders value their workforce.
“Secondly, we have listened to our Trade Unions, met all their asks and worked with Scottish Government to put an incredibly strong half a billion pound pay package on the table – which we hope the other trade union members will vote to accept.
“Finally, offering almost 10 per cent or a £2006 pay increase for our lowest paid workers, which the unions specifically asked for, and £1929 or at least 5.5% for everyone else is as far as Local Government can go without impacting service and jobs.”
Commenting on news reports of fights breaking out between parents at Ferryhill Primary School, UNISON has denounced the actions as intolerable and are demanding that more must be done to protect all staff, parents and pupils from the threat of violence at work.
UNISON Edinburgh City branch secretary, Tom Connolly said: “This is a serious situation, which we have been working with stakeholders to ensure all pupils, parents and staff are safe.
“It is not acceptable that staff regularly feel threatened at work. We can’t allow any aggressive behaviour towards anyone in our school.”
“UNISON, with other unions, has been trying to find a solution for some months. We are working together with the head teacher, who is extremely supportive, the police and local authority. We are doing everything we can to support staff and parents.
“The unions have met with senior leaders at Edinburgh Council and requested community police to support staff at the beginning and end of the school day when the behaviours are at their worst. We are also looking to see if a voluntary sector family support organisation can provide help.”
“UNISON will continue to work collaboratively over the summer, with the school management team, city councillors and others, to ensure pupils, parents and staff can return to a safe environment for learning.”
The Chair of Ferryhill Parent Council made this statement back on 1st June:
It is with a heavy heart that I must make this statement.
As parents, our top priority is always our children. We willingly sacrifice our free time and forego attending events in order to organize activities and provide treats for the kids at Ferryhill. We strive to ensure that every child is included and receives equal treatment. Over the past few months, we have taken days off from work and given up our personal time to address significant issues that were left behind by the previous parent council.
As the Chair, it is unacceptable for our members to be subjected to backlash, derogatory comments, and verbal abuse.
Regrettably, we have experienced two separate serious incidents today, which will be thoroughly investigated, and the police will be involved if deemed necessary.
Additionally, we have received negative feedback from parents about the selection of activities we have on offer. Taking all of this into account, I have made the difficult decision to suspend any upcoming events that we had planned, as well as future projects aimed at supporting the children at Ferryhill.
After the investigation concludes, we will assess the situation and make a decision regarding whether to proceed or not. Furthermore, we will seek support from the parent forum for any future decisions.
It is important to note that we are here to represent parents and caregivers. However, it is crucial to remember that we are also parents ourselves.
If there is any parent that witnesses the two incidents and would like to come forward please contact me on ferryhillparentcouncil@yahoo.com
UNISON City of Edinburgh branch is calling on the council to cancel a ‘Schools and gender identity event’ to protect library staff and members of the trans community.
The event which its organisers say is “a group of concerned adults organised a public meeting in Portobello Community Centre to discuss the teaching of gender identity in schools” is due to be held at Portobello Library this evening (Tuesday 14 March) has already gathered national media attention and some community campaigners have also called for its cancellation.
UNISON City of Edinburgh branch has been in dialogue with the council to express safety-fears for library staff and local trans-individuals. UNISON argue that library staff are being placed at the centre of something that is going to impact their ability to provide a high quality public services to the local community, including the LGBT+ community.
UNISON City of Edinburgh branch is also concerned that the event indirectly endangers the wider safety of the UK trans community. Should the event be allowed to continue, the branch will peacefully protest with other community activist protesters and would ask other who feel the same to join them.
UNISON City of Edinburgh branch secretary, Tom Conolly said: “UNISON Edinburgh city branch represent library staff across the city and we do not want to see them placed at the centre of something which could impact on their ability to deliver high quality public services.
“We are concerned that this event has been granted permission to go ahead. UNISON Edinburgh city branch is clear in its commitment to trans and non-binary members. We recognise the importance of supporting trans members in our local communities.”
UNISON City of Edinburgh branch equalities officer, Elaine Wishart said: “UNISON supports trans rights and wants to be at the forefront of promoting an inclusive debate.
“You don’t have to be trans to fight for trans rights, you can be a trans ally. The national debate is very divisive and harms trans-people who need our compassion and support. UNISON have produced many campaign materials around combatting the gender critical narrative.
“Trans rights are human rights and making sure our trans members are able to go to work, and just be themselves in the wider community free of fear, harassment and bullying is paramount.”
UNISON, and sister trade unions Unite and GMB, are threatening pull out local government school staff and refuse workers on strike again.
Strike action was suspended after UNISON members voted for an offer which was made to them by COSLA on 2nd September 2022.
Trade union strikes remain suspended but mandates remain live meaning UNISON can legally call their local government members back out on strike, again.
COSLA now claim that the elements of the original deal – an extra days leave and the payment of SSSC registration fees for those working in social work, social care and early years – were only for one year not in perpetuity.
UNISON have now written to COSLA to say: “It is frankly outrageous that the draft pay circular sent to us on 7th October sought to time limit elements of the offer that had no time limitation on them in the original offer letter or in the discussions we had prior to it.
“That this remains unresolved should be a source of deep embarrassment. As has previously been advised our strike mandates remain live and we are all under increasing pressure from members, who are rapidly losing faith in their employer, to lift the strike suspensions if a resolution is not achieved quickly.”
Council staff are still waiting for their increased pay uplifts to be included in their pay packets.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government said:“This is appalling behaviour – either the employer did not even understand the offer they themselves were making – or they did and are now trying to renegue on it before its even been implemented. Either way it will be our members that suffer if they are allowed to get away with it.
“We have made clear to the employer and the Scottish Government that our strike mandates remain live and all three trade unions are under increasing pressure from members, who are rapidly losing faith in their employer, to lift the strike suspensions if a resolution and call members out if a resolution is not achieved quickly.
“Our members will rightly be questioning the value of COSLA if they cannot be trusted to draft an offer that they understand or uphold one that they do understand.
“It should be a source of deep embarrassment to COSLA that more than six months since the pay implementation date and in the middle of the worst cost of living crises our country has seen, waiting on their pay rise”
GMB Scotland, Unison and Unite trade unions have suspended next week’s strikes after receiving an improved pay offer from local government umbrella organisation Cosla.
The unions are recommending their members accept the new deal.
Responding to the revised offer for local government pay, and following a meeting of GMB Scotland’s local government committee,GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said:“GMB has been very clear that more must be done for the lowest paid in local government and this latest offer delivers a significant amount of consolidated money for these workers, including the frontline refuse and schools’ staff that everyone depends on.
“It’s not a perfect offer but it is the view of GMB Scotland’s local government committee that it’s worthy of members consultation and their acceptance, but ultimately our members whose campaigning and strike actions have improved these terms will have the final say.
“In the meantime, we have agreed to suspend all planned strike action so this consultation process can take place and our GMB organisers and workplace reps will be visiting as many workplaces as possible to engage our members on this.
“Most importantly, we want to pay tribute to our members. Strike action is not easy, it requires sacrifice and solidarity to deliver outcomes that make work better, and they have fought long and hard for an improved offer to help confront this cost-of-living crisis.”
After days of intense negotiations with the First Minster, the Deputy First Minister, Scottish Government and COSLA. UNISON has now secured an improved offer from COSLA that they will put to their members with a recommendation to accept.
The offer consists of: • An increase of £2000 for those earning up to £20,500 • An increase of £1925 for those earning between £20,500 to £39,000 • A 5% increase for those earning between £39,000 to £60,000 • A maximum increase of £3k for those earning above £60,000 • The removal of SSSC fees where application (social care registration fees) • 1 extra days annual leave • All increases based on a 36hr week calculator
Three UNISON sticking points were overcome late last night with the First Minister. The first is that the pay envelope has been increased to £600m, second that the pay increases will be fully consolidated from the date of implementation and the calculations will be based on 36-hour week (rather 37hr wk).
In March council workers were offered a paltry 2%. In July they were offered 3.5%. And now, through the strength of UNISON’s collective industrial muscle and members willingness to stand up to their employers we have now achieved a total increase to the pay bill of 7.5%, with 8 in 10 UNISON workers getting increases of between 5 – 10 %.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON head of local government said:“This offer is a victory for UNISON members. It has taken 8 months and the industrial might of UNISON members in schools and early years and waste and recycling workers to drag £600m out of Scottish government and COSLA and into the pockets hardworking people.
“COSLA originally offered 2%, then 3.5%, then 5% – we now we have £600m on the table, which is a 7.5% increase to the total pay bill and 87% of our council workers will receive fully consolidated increases between 5% to 10%.
“UNISON want to get this money into the pockets of council workers now while we continue the campaign to support people through the cost of living crisis,
“It is only through the collective action of our members in school and early years staff threatening strike action and our waste and recycling workers taking action that we have forced these extra funds out of government and the employer.
“Our member’s message was clear and unequivocal – UNISON’s local government members are no longer prepared to be treated as the poor relations of the public sector. They will stand up, speak up and organise to win change together. There is always more to do but this is a welcome step in the right direction.”
Mark Ferguson, chair of UNISON Scotland local government committee said:“Do not underestimate the scale of the achievement for UNISON members. We have won significant increases from where we started 8 month ago. We have had to drag the employer to the table to even talk to us.
“This will go someway to help them through the cost of living crisis but by no means is the fight over. UNISON will now continue its campaign to improve pay and conditions for all workers in local government.”
Unite the union can confirm that following talks involving the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, COSLA and the trade unions, a new ‘credible’ pay offer has been formally put on the table.
Unite can confirm that the substance of the new offer has led to a recommendation by its local government committee to accept.
Strikes scheduled to take place in waste and education services from 6 to 13 September are now suspended. Unite will hold a consultative ballot of its local government membership on the offer which it aims to complete by 22 September.
Unite can confirm a flat rate fully consolidated offer of £2,000 for those earning up to £20,500. This is the equivalent to an increase of around 10 – 11 per cent for the lowest paid who are estimated to be around 18 per cent of the total workforce. The offer is consolidated into overtime, allowances and pensions.
It further includes a £1,925 flat rate offer which is fully consolidated for those earning between £20,500 and up to £39,000. This is the equivalent to an increase of 8 per cent for those earning around £24,000. The offer would also be backdated to April.
Unite estimates that trade union negotiators have been able to secure around an extra £460m for local government since the dispute in waste services began in Edinburgh on 18 August.
Wendy Dunsmore, Unite’s lead negotiator for local government, welcomed the new offer, she said:“After the latest round of intensive talks a new credible offer has finally been put on the table by COSLA. Unite wants to acknowledge the First Minister’s direct involvement as a primary reason for the breakthrough.
“The offer on the table is fully consolidated and as such there will be more cash in the pot going forward for local government workers. It provides a degree of security for the lowest paid with a flat rate offer of £2000 which is an uplift worth around 10-11 per cent.
“We now have a credible offer which our local government representatives can recommend to the membership for acceptance.”
It is reported that more than half of Scotland’s 250,000 council workers are earning less than £25,000 a year for a 37-hour week.
COSLA has said it was delighted to get to a point in this year’s pay negotiations whereby a fresh pay offer has been put to the Trade Unions.
Commenting yesterday [Friday 2nd September 2022] following a meeting of Council Leaders, Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson, said: “Firstly I would like to thank all our Trade Union colleagues for the constructive discussions.
“The revised offer made shows that Scotland’s Council Leaders have listened to the concerns of our workforce and have responded positively.
“Council Leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we very much value and are grateful to the Local Government Workforce.
“We have sent letters to our union colleagues following today’s meeting and hope that this enables strike action to be suspended and allows our workforce to get back to doing what they do best, delivering high quality essential services for the people within our communities right across Scotland.”
Commenting on the new pay offer for local government workers from COSLA, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Unions work. This offer could not have been possible without the solidarity of our collective movement. As it should be, it’s now up to the members whether to accept this proposal.
“We’re facing the gravest cost of living emergency seen for generations. When there is the political will to do so, instigated by Scotland’s workers and with the assistance of political leaders, the Scottish Government can indeed intervene to help those most in need.
“Other workers across public services will welcome this precedent as they too seek pay justice in the face of the cost-of-living crisis. We intended to make this loud and clear at our cost of living pay march outside the Scottish Parliament this Thursday, September 8th.”
The City of Edinburgh Council has updated its advice to residents following this afternoon’s announcement that industrial action is to be paused.
Strike action was due to restart in Edinburgh on Tuesday but, following the latest offer from COSLA, Unite and GMB trade unions have agreed to suspend the action while they conduct a consultative ballot of their members.
The Council has updated its recovery plan to take account of this and residents are being advised that kerbside collections (grey and green wheelie bins, plus food waste) will resume as normal from next week.
This excludes garden waste and blue box glass collections, which will restart from 13 September. As previously communicated, garden waste customers will be compensated for any missed collections resulting from strike action.
Any residents who were due a collection on Thursday 1 or Friday 2 September whose bins haven’t yet been emptied are being advised to leave them out for collection – they’ll be emptied as soon as possible.
Street cleaning teams, meanwhile, continue to make good progress with the city-wide clean-up, focusing their efforts on high-footfall areas and working closely with waste collection teams to clear excess litter around bins.
Full details of the recovery plan and the latest guidance have been published on the Council website: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/binstrike
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “Clearly, I’m pleased that next week’s strike action has been suspended while union members consider this latest offer – and I’m cautiously optimistic that they’ll follow their unions’ recommendation and accept.
“This dispute has already dragged on way too long and the Scottish Government and COSLA leadership would do well to reflect on this going forward.
“I know this will come as a relief to residents and businesses across Edinburgh who’ve had to endure a difficult few weeks for our Capital city – but I hope, like me, they’ll agree it’s been worth it to secure a fair deal for our hard working colleagues.
(NOTE – Cammy Day voted to offer those ‘hard working colleagues’ just 3.5%!)
“Our teams have put in an incredible shift since returning to work on Tuesday – collecting an eye-watering 3,500 tonnes of waste in the process and underlining their immense value to our city and its reputation.
“The clean-up will continue in the coming days and most kerbside collections will resume as normal from next Tuesday. Unfortunately, for this to happen, we do still need to divert some resources away from garden waste and glass collections, but I’m pleased they’ll be able to resume from the following week.
“I appreciate that this has been, and continues to be, an extremely challenging period for us all and I would like to thank our residents, businesses and visitors for their continued patience and understanding.”
*** UPDATE – STRIKES SUSPENDED FOLLOWING NEW PAY OFFER ***
UNITE members in Waste and Cleansing will walk out again from Tuesday 6th to Tuesday 13th September as the dispute over local government pay in Scotland continues.
Schools workers in Edinburgh are not on strike.
Unite is adamant that until COSLA obtains funding from the Scottish Government to offer a proper pay rise, action will continue with the mandates we have in waste and schools.
The First Minister held talks with both Cosla and the striking trade unions yesterday in an attempt to break the deadlock. There has been some progress and a deal is inching closer. Talks will continue today.
UPDATE: 3.30pm UNITE has suspended next week’s strike action as members consider an improved pay offer
COSLA last night expressed its disappointment with the Local Government Trade Unions reaction to ‘one of the best pay deals for their workforce in decades’.
The offer, negotiated on behalf of Scotland’s 32 councils, is an overall package worth half a billion pounds, giving 5% to all staff plus an additional cost of living payment to our lowest paid employees. Based on a 37-hour week no member of staff will get less than an additional £1925 and for those earning under £20,500 at least a £2,000 pay increase – for this year and also next year.
This has been designed to address the concerns and firm view of Trade Unions that the lowest paid must be protected during this crisis and demonstrates Local Government’s commitment to not leave anyone behind.
Councils continue to strive to lead the way in pushing up minimum rates of pay and as well as this are including an extra days annual leave this year.
Councillor Katie Hagmann COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson said: “Council Leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we absolutely value and are grateful to all of our local government workforce.
“It is perhaps only when waste starts piling up and there is the prospect of further disruption to life with school closures that others see the hidden value local government services deliver each and every day of the year in our towns, villages and cities.
“It is for this reason that we as employers have done everything possible to put the best offer we can to our workforce. But we are now at the absolute extremes of affordability and this is already an offer which is stretching our already stretched finances like never before.
“This year’s offer is significantly better and different to previous offers and would have helped to support our Council workforces across the country at this difficult time.
“That support is crucial at any time but particularly now, during the cost of living crisis the country is facing. This is why we are so disappointed with the response to it from our Trade Union colleagues.
“Given our commitment as Employers to get to this point, we are disappointed that Trade Unions will not suspend planned strike action whilst they put this offer to members to allow workers to get back to doing what they do best, delivering high quality, essential services right across Scotland.
“My final point to the Trade Union colleagues is that we have done everything we possibly can to get to this stage and that this offer – which is still on the table – is as good as it gets.”
UNISON responded: ‘Strikes to continue – We will recommend UNISON council members vote to reject the latest LG pay offer in a digital consultative ballot in the coming days.’
GMB Scotland and Unite, the two other unions locked in the local government dispute, also rejected the latest pay offer. GMB says the council pay offer feathers nests of service directors over frontline staff.
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Keir Greenaway said: “A flat rate award is a key demand from unions to ensure more consolidated money goes into the pockets of frontline workers and not the highest paid in our councils. COSLA knew this but instead tabled this offer as an across-the-board percentage rise that only feathers the nests of service directors.
“This was unacceptable to our local government committee members. It’s not credible that in the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years, and with inflation and energy bills soaring, a head of service gets four times the consolidated increase than a bin collector, cleaner or carer.
“That’s why we have written to COSLA again this evening urging them to return to talks as soon as possible and to negotiate a new offer based on a flat rate increase. If they don’t do this, then when our committee reconvenes tomorrow, we will outline our plans to fully consult GMB members.”
The big clean up begins in Edinburgh this morning – but unless a pay deal can be thrashed out we could be facing another round of industrial action in Auld Reekie as earky as next week.
UNITE members rallied outside the City Chambers yesterday to mark the end of the first wave of strikes – but made clear this dispute is far from over.
A Unite spokesperson said: “Unless they get an offer Local Authority workers deserve, Edinburgh will be joined by 19 other Councils to take further action from September 6th.”
