GMB call for increase of £1 an hour

‘Members across Scotland say that in their experience you need at least £10 an hour and a full working week to have a decent life free from benefits and tax credits’ – GMB Scotland

GMB Scotland is calling for an increase of £1 per hour towards the GMB Congress target of a living wage of at least £10 per hour.

The items in the trade union’s claim, submitted to Cosla last Friday, are: £1 an hour increase on all hourly rates of pay, consolidation of living wage supplements and the removal of all pay points below the living wage pay level. The next review of pay is 1 April 2015.

GMB Scotland launched the pay campaign with photo calls at ten locations across Scotland, with GMB members employed by Scottish local authorities holding up large replica of a £1 coin

Alex McLuckie, GMB Scotland’s Senior Organiser, said: “GMB is kicking off this campaign for Scottish local council workers to receive a £1 an hour increase on their basic salary from April 2015. This is a step towards the target of a living wage of £10 per hour set by GMB Congress in 2014.

“GMB members across Scotland say that in their experience you need at least £10 an hour and a full working week to have a decent life free from benefits and tax credits. Less than £10 an hour means just existing not living. It means a life of isolation, unable to socialise. It means a life of constant anxiety over paying bills and of borrowing from friends, family and pay day loan sharks just to make ends meet.

“Many of our members provide vital frontline services and while these jobs are crucial to many of Scotland’s councils, the people providing these services are some of the lowest of paid.

“Over the years Scotland’s council workers have either received a minimal pay rise or no pay rise at all. Further to this many GMB members may have suffered a cut in earnings through hours being reduced, while at the same time having their workload increased with staff leaving without being replaced.

“With the reality of low pay and increasing workloads, coupled with the vital services which our members provide for Scotland’s councils, GMB Scotland believe £1 an hour rise on all basic salaries is a way of acknowledging the work done by Scotland’s council workers.”