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.”
Junior doctors across Scotland have been offered a 14.5% pay uplift over the two year period 2022-24, following negotiations with BMA Scotland.
This represents a £61.3 million investment in junior doctor pay – the largest in the last 20 years and the best offer in the UK.
If accepted, the new and final offer will be a pay raise of 6.5% in 2023/24, as well as an additional 3% towards an already agreed 4.5% uplift in 2022/23. This amounts to a cumulative increase of 14.5% over two years and matches the recent pay award accepted by nurses and other NHS workers in 2023.
This offer means a doctor at the beginning of their career would receive a total salary increase of £3,834 over two years. For those at the end of their training the rise would be £7,951 over the same period.
Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “After weeks of intense negotiations I’m delighted our government and BMA Scotland have come to an agreement on pay which they will now put to their members.
“Recognising the incredible work that junior doctors do, we have offered a fair and progressive rise which will mean a pay increase of 14.5% over two years – the best offer on the table in the UK.
“We have taken their concerns regarding pay, and the need to modernise pay bargaining more broadly, extremely seriously. It’s now up to junior doctors to reflect on this final offer, and I hope they will accept.”
Junior doctors in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action over pay following a five week ballot of BMA Scotland members.
With more than 5000 junior doctors in Scotland eligible to vote, turnout was in excess of 71% – with a total of 3610 votes cast, and almost 97% in favour of strike action.
While negotiations with the Scottish Government over pay are ongoing BMA Scotland will use this clear mandate for strike action to push forward in our ongoing efforts to reverse the unacceptable pay erosion junior doctors in Scotland have suffered for more than a decade.
Should the Scottish Government not put forward a credible offer that the BMA believes could be put to members, junior doctors in Scotland would then begin preparations for a 72-hour walkout at dates to be confirmed in due course.
Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA’s Scottish Junior Doctors Committee, said: “This ballot result shows, beyond doubt, that junior doctors in Scotland have had enough.
“Years of pay erosion have seen the take home salary of a newly qualified FY1 doctor decline by 23.5% in real-terms compared to 2008, and the pay of an average registrar reduced by 23.9%. This is simply unacceptable, and we are no longer prepared to stand aside, feeling overworked and undervalued, while witnessing so many junior doctors seeking employment abroad or outside the NHS where our considerable skills are properly valued.
“Investing in today’s junior doctors by paying them the salary they deserve is essentially making a down payment on the future of Scotland’s NHS – today’s junior doctors are the GPs, specialist doctors and consultants of the future. Without a serious plan to reverse pay erosion, these doctors will go on leaving Scotland’s NHS, undermining any plans to build a sustainable NHS for generations to come.
“We have made, and continue to make, progress with Scottish Government in formal negotiations on pay, but there is still some work to do before there is an offer that we believe could be credibly put to members.
“In the meantime – we will use this mandate to urge the Cabinet Secretary to signal a clear commitment to investing in the future of Scottish junior doctors, to make Scotland’s NHS an attractive place to train, grow and progress our careers, and show us that the work we do is finally properly, and fairly, valued and appreciated.
“We are not asking for huge pay increases – we are simply asking for a tangible step towards addressing the pay erosion our profession has suffered for well over a decade, combined with a clear plan for this to be reversed and restored.
“Should a credible pay offer not be forthcoming in the wake of this overwhelming mandate, our members are clear that they would have no choice but to stage a 72-hour walkout of all services across Scotland’s NHS.”
Health Secretary Michael Matheson said that he was disappointed with the junior doctors’ ballot decision but said the Scottish Government will continue to negotiatw with BMA Scotland to find a resolution.
The Windsor Framework, agreed by the Prime Minister and European Commission President, replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, providing a new legal and UK constitutional framework.
Fundamentally rewriting the Treaty with new ‘Stormont Brake’ means UK can veto new EU goods laws if they are not supported by both communities in Northern Ireland
New green lane removes any sense of a border in Irish Sea
Northern Ireland to benefit from same VAT, food and drink and medicines as the rest of the UK
A new way forward for a prosperous, stable future for Northern Ireland has been set out, rewriting the Treaty to fix the practical problems for the people and businesses of Northern Ireland, protects Northern Ireland’s place within our Union, and restores the balance of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions.
The Windsor Framework, agreed by the Prime Minister and European Commission President yesterday, replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, dealing with the issues it has created and providing a new legal and UK constitutional framework.
It delivers free-flowing trade in goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by removing any sense of the border in the Irish Sea for goods staying within the UK. These goods will travel as normal through a new green lane without red tape or unnecessary checks, with the only checks remaining designed to prevent smuggling or crime.
It protects Northern Ireland’s place in our Union, replacing swathes of EU laws with UK laws and ensuring the people of Northern Ireland can benefit from the same tax policies, food and drink, medicines, and parcels as the rest of the UK.
It puts the people of Northern Ireland in charge with active democratic consent. The Agreement rewrites the Treaty text with a new Stormont Brake that means the UK can veto new EU goods laws if they are not supported by both communities in Northern Ireland, which goes far beyond previous agreements or discussions on the old Protocol.
At Monday’s press conference, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Today’s agreement is written in the language of laws and treaties. But really, it’s about much more than that.
“It’s about stability in Northern Ireland. It’s about real people and real businesses. It’s about showing that our Union, that has lasted for centuries, can and will endure.
“And it’s about breaking down the barriers between us. Setting aside the arguments that have for too long, divided us. And remembering the fellow feeling that defines us: This family of nations – this United Kingdom.”
The Windsor Framework delivers free-flowing movement of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea within the UK:
A new green lane (the UK internal market scheme) means traders moving goods destined for Northern Ireland will be freed of unnecessary paperwork, checks and duties, using only ordinary commercial information rather than burdensome customs bureaucracy or complex certification requirements for agrifood. The same type of standard commercial information used when moving goods from Birmingham to the Isle of Wight will be used Birmingham to Belfast. All goods destined for the EU will use the red lane.
All requirements have been scrapped for trade from Northern Ireland to Great Britain on a permanent basis, including the requirement for export declarations.
The green lane will be expanded to include food retailers such as supermarkets and hospitality businesses, significantly reducing SPS checks and costly paperwork, and ensuring choice for consumers on supermarket shelves. A single supermarket truck who previously had to provide 500 certificates can now instead make a straightforward commitment that goods will stay in Northern Ireland. Retailers will mark goods as “not for EU”, with a phased rollout of this requirement to give them time to adjust.
Chilled meats like sausages, which were banned under the old Protocol, can move freely into Northern Ireland like other retail food products.
Parcels from people or businesses in Great Britain can now be sent to friends, family, and consumers in Northern Ireland as they are today, without customs declarations, processes or extra costs under the old Protocol. Parcels sent business to business will travel via the green lane.
The Windsor Framework protects Northern Ireland’s place in the Union:
The same medicines, in the same packs, with the same labels, will be available across the UK, without the need for barcode scanning requirements under the old Protocol. The UK will license all medicines for all UK citizens, including novel medicines like cancer drugs, rather than the European Medicines Agency under the old Protocol. NI’s healthcare industry will have full access to both UK and EU markets, supporting jobs and investment through a dual regulatory regime.
Pets can also now travel freely with their owners across the UK, without expensive health treatments like rabies or documentation from a vet. Pet owners in Northern Ireland won’t have to do a thing when travelling to GB. Where they’re not moving on to Ireland or the rest of the EU, GB owners with microchipped pets can either easily sign up for a lifetime travel document for their pet, available online and electronically in a matter of minutes, or an equally seamless process built into the booking processfor a flight or ferry.
Previously banned iconic plants like English oak trees and seed potatoes will once again move easily within the UK without the bureaucratic checks and costly certification under the old Protocol and instead use a similar process to the Plant Passport scheme that already exists in Great Britain. This will end restrictions that hampered consumer choice and damaged business whilst protecting the long-standing single epidemiological area on the island of Ireland.
The legal text of the Treaty has been amended, so that critical VAT and excisechanges will apply to the whole of the UK. This means that zero-rates of VAT on energy saving materials like solar panels and alcohol duty reforms will now apply in Northern Ireland.
The UK Government can continue to provide generous and targeted subsidiesacross the UK. The ‘reach-back’ risks under the old Protocol have been addressed with new stringent tests, so there are now almost no circumstances in which the Protocol applies to UK subsidies, providing certainty for businesses to trade and invest in Northern Ireland. We expect more than 98% of Northern Ireland subsidies to be unaffected in practice.
The Windsor Framework safeguards sovereignty and fixes the democratic deficit by putting the people of Northern Ireland in charge:
The new Stormont Brake means the democratically elected Northern Ireland Assembly can oppose new EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives in Northern Ireland. They will do so on the same basis as the ‘petition of concern’ mechanism in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, needing the support of 30 members from at least two parties. The Stormont Brake has been introduced by fundamentally rewriting the Treaty and goes significantly further than the ‘all or nothing vote’ under the old Protocol every four years at most.
Over 1,700 of EU law have been removed, and with it ECJ interpretation and oversight in areas like VAT, medicines, and food safety – so the UK Government can decide and UK courts can interpret. The minimal set of EU rules – less than 3% – apply to preserve the privileged, unrestricted access for Northern Ireland businesses to the whole of the EU Single Market and avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The agreement concludes months of intensive discussions between the UK and EU to address real world issues and needs of the people of Northern Ireland.
Providing reassurance for the future, the UK and EU have agreed to work together to anticipate and deal with any other issues that may emerge and have made a joint declaration to resolve issues through dialogue, rather than formal dispute proceedings.
Alongside ‘The Windsor Framework: a new way forward’, the Government has published the full range of legal texts that underpin the Windsor Framework. These solutions put arrangements in Northern Ireland on an entirely new footing, with far-reaching changes to the old Protocol to provide lasting certainty and stability for citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland.
To give businesses and individuals time to prepare, the implementation of the agreement will be phased in, with some of the new arrangements for goods, agrifood, pets and plant movements introduced later this year and the remainder in 2024. In the meantime, the current temporary standstill arrangements will continue to apply.
The UK Government will no longer proceed with the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, as the UK and EU have come to a negotiated agreement. Similarly, the agreement will mean the EU withdrawing all of the legal actions it has launched against the UK.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a speech on the Windsor Framework:
Good afternoon.
All our thoughts are with Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell and his family after last week’s abhorrent shooting in Omagh.
A man of extraordinary courage, his first thought was to protect the children he had been coaching.
President Von der Leyen and I stand united with the people and leaders of all communities across Northern Ireland.
Those trying to drag us back to the past will never succeed.
This afternoon, I welcomed President Von der Leyen to Windsor to continue our discussions about the Northern Ireland Protocol.
I’m pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough.
Together, we have changed the original Protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor Framework.
Today’s agreement:
Delivers smooth flowing trade within the whole United Kingdom.
Protects Northern Ireland’s place in our Union.
And safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.
These negotiations have not always been easy, but I’d like to pay an enormous personal tribute to Ursula for her vision in recognising the possibility of a new way forward.
And to my colleagues the Foreign and Northern Ireland Secretaries for their steadfast leadership.
The United Kingdom and the European Union may have had our differences in the past, but we are allies, trading partners, and friends … something that we’ve seen clearly in the past year as we joined with others, to support Ukraine.
This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.
For a quarter of a century the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement has endured because at its heart is respect for the aspirations and identities of all communities.
Today’s agreement is about preserving that delicate balance and charting a new way forward for the people of Northern Ireland.
I am standing here today because I believe that we have found ways to end the uncertainty and challenge for the people of Northern Ireland.
We have taken three big steps forward.
First, today’s agreement delivers the smooth flow of trade within the United Kingdom.
Goods destined for Northern Ireland will travel through a new Green Lane, with a separate Red Lane for goods at risk of moving onto the EU.
In the Green Lane, burdensome customs bureaucracy will be scrapped.
It means food retailers like supermarkets, restaurants and wholesalers will no longer need hundreds of certificates for every lorry.
And we will end the situation where food made to UK rules could not be sent to and sold in Northern Ireland.
This means that if food is available on the supermarket shelves in Great Britain … then it will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland.
And unlike the Protocol, today’s agreement means people sending parcels to friends and family or doing their shopping online, will have to complete no customs paperwork.
This means we have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea.
Second, we have protected Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.
We’ve amended the legal text of the Protocol to ensure we can make critical VAT and excise changes for the whole of the UK…
…for example on alcohol duty, meaning our reforms to cut the cost of a pint in the pub will now apply in Northern Ireland.
The same quintessentially British products like trees, plants, and seed potatoes – will again be available in Northern Ireland’s garden centres.
Onerous requirements on pet travel have been removed.
And today’s agreement also delivers a landmark settlement on medicines.
From now on, drugs approved for use by the UK’s medicines regulator… will be automatically available in every pharmacy and hospital in Northern Ireland.
Third, today’s agreement safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.
The only EU law that applies in Northern Ireland under the Framework … is the minimum necessary to avoid a hard border with Ireland and allow Northern Irish businesses to continue accessing the EU market.
But I know that many people in Northern Ireland are also worried about being subject to changes to EU goods laws.
To address that, today’s agreement introduces a new Stormont Brake.
Many had called for Stormont to have a say over these laws.
But the Stormont Brake goes further and means that Stormont can in fact stop them from applying in Northern Ireland.
This will establish a clear process through which the democratically elected Assembly can pull an emergency brake … for changes to EU goods rules that would have significant, and lasting effects on everyday lives. If the brake is pulled, the UK government will have a veto.
This gives the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland a powerful new safeguard, based on cross community consent.
I believe the Windsor Framework marks a turning point for the people of Northern Ireland.
It fixes the practical problems they face.
It preserves the balance of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.
Of course, parties will want to consider the agreement in detail, a process that will need time and care.
Today’s agreement is written in the language of laws and treaties.
But really, it’s about much more than that.
It’s about stability in Northern Ireland.
It’s about real people and real businesses.
It’s about showing that our Union, that has lasted for centuries, can and will endure.
And it’s about breaking down the barriers between us.
Setting aside the arguments that for too long, have divided us.
And remembering the fellow feeling that defines us: This family of nations – this United Kingdom.
Nursing trade union Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland has paused a formal announcement of strike action in response to further talks with the Scottish government.
The decision follows a meeting with the First Minister and RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen today and talks this week between Scottish government, the RCN and the other trade unions currently in dispute regarding NHS pay (the GMB and Royal College of Midwives) to consider a roadmap to resolving the dispute. The Scottish government was fully aware that an announcement on RCN strike dates was imminent.
The overwhelming mandate for strike action from RCN members in Scotland has been instrumental in securing these further negotiations.
The proposal from Scottish government includes:
Negotiations for the 2023/24 NHS Agenda for Change pay offer to commence on an accelerated timetable starting next week with an aim of concluding by the end of February
A commitment to an additional payment equivalent to three calendar months value of the difference between the 2022/23 and the agreed 2023/24 pay rates
A firm commitment from Scottish government to a full review of the Agenda for Change framework in Scotland to ensure nursing is recognised and rewarded with a clear route for career progression
A commitment to match any NHS pay increase in England for 2023/24 if it is higher than that agreed in Scotland
A commitment to invest any additional consequentials for NHS pay in England for 2022/23 in NHS pay in Scotland for 2022/23.
Scottish government would also support NHS employers to agree an extension of the RCN’s ballot mandate for strike action beyond early May if required.
Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive said: “The Scottish government has shown a willingness to return to the negotiating table and to act to address the nursing workforce crisis. The pressure from you, our members, has been key to these negotiations moving forward. We need to see this process through in good faith.
“Our members in Scotland are being listened to and the First Minister is in no doubt that we will take strike action if the proposals being outlined do not deliver a significant improvement by the end of February.”
Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Director told union members: “You have said enough is enough and that was before the current pressures trying to care for patients and keep services running.
“We know it is frustrating that things are not moving more quickly but things are moving. While the Scottish government repeated their assertion that there is no more money for NHS pay in 2022/23, it was my strong mandate from you that led to the positive discussions this week and the commitment to keep negotiating.
“The Scottish government needs to do more and to take this opportunity to do the right thing, for nursing and for patients. These new pay negotiations must acknowledge the safety critical role of nursing.”
The EIS condemned the Scottish Government and COSLA for presenting a revised pay offer to teachers that offers no tangible improvement on their previously rejected offers.
Following three months of delay, and the promise of an improved offer to teachers, the offer that was presented today provides no additional money and is, for many teachers, a worse offer than those previously rejected by teacher unions.
A special meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee, held online yesterday afternoon, has unanimously rejected the offer. As a result of this immediate rejection of the offer, strike action scheduled to begin on Thursday will go ahead.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “This offer is nothing less than an abject insult to Scotland’s hard-working teaching professionals. Teachers overwhelmingly rejected a 5% offer more than 3 months ago and now, after months of prevarication and weeks of empty promises, COSLA and the Scottish Government come back with an offer than is worth that same 5% to the vast majority of teachers.
“This is not, as the Scottish Government claims, a progressive offer – it is a divisive offer, made on a differentiated basis, which is actually worse for many teachers in promoted posts.”
Ms Bradley added, “Contrary to the claims made by the Cabinet Secretary in Parliament and in Scottish Government spin today, this is not an improved, realistic, progressive or generous offer. Our members will see this offer for exactly what it is – a kick in the teeth from their employers and the Scottish Government.
“This afternoon’s Salaries Committee expressed outrage at this offer, and that outrage is sure to be replicated in staffrooms across Scotland today and tomorrow. Our programme of strike action, which will commence as scheduled on Thursday, will clearly show the strength of feeling of Scotland’s teachers who will be out in numbers and with strong voice on picket lines and at regional rallies.”
Ms Bradley also corrected a false statement made by Cabinet Secretary Shirley Anne Somerville in the Scottish Parliament today, who repeatedly claimed that four offers had been made to teachers prior to today: “We have received, and rejected, three previous offers from COSLA and the Scottish Government before today: for 2%; 3.5% and 5%.
“Today’s offer, which is the fourth, is really no new offer at all, but a reheating of the previously rejected offer. Today’s offer includes no additional money, and is a sign of the contempt with which COSLA and the Scottish Government clearly view Scotland’s teaching professionals.”
Scottish Government: New ‘progressive’ pay offer made to teachers
A new progressive pay offer – the fourth which has been made to unions – recognises the impact of the cost of living crisis on lower-paid teachers, with an increase of up to 6.85%.
For those classroom teachers on the main grade scale, who benefit from pay progression, this offer will mean an increase in one year of over 10%.
Those at the top of the scale will receive a 5% increase, taking their salary to £44,453. A teacher moving from probation into a fully qualified post would gain an annual salary increase of 27%.
A fully qualified teacher in Scotland would receive £35,650 – over £7,500 more than their counterparts in England under the offer. The most experienced classroom teachers would receive £5,600 more than they would if they were teaching in England on the main pay range.
Overall, if accepted, this would represent a cumulative pay increase for the majority of teachers of 21.8% since 2018.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is a fair offer which recognises that the cost of living crisis is the priority, with higher increases for staff on lower salaries.
“This is now the fourth offer that has been made. In the same time EIS have not changed their request for a 10% pay increase – even for those on the highest incomes.
“I have been clear that we have limited room for manoeuvre. The financial situation for the Scottish Government is challenging and additional money for teacher pay means reduced public services elsewhere.
“In these challenging times it is important we focus our attention on those who are most impacted by the cost of living crisis, as well as ensuring fairness to all public sector workers. I would urge leadership to postpone plans for industrial action and consider this new offer.”
Commenting following the revised offer to the Teaching Trade Unions Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson said: “Scottish Local Government values its entire workforce, of which teachers are a key part.
“We have this afternoon made a revised fourth offer to our trade union colleagues. It is fair, affordable and recognises that the cost-of-living crisis is the priority, with higher increases for staff on lower pay points. This is in line with the offers made to all other parts of the public sector.
“We have worked extremely hard and closely with Scottish Government to ensure such a revised offer could be brought forward and made today. I would call on our Trade Union colleagues to recognise that these are extremely challenging financial times we are operating in and we all need to make decisions with a full understanding of the consequences.
“Our offer ensures that we don’t place additional pressure on any other parts of our hardworking workforce and the essential services they deliver, and importantly it protects the best interests of children and young people. We hope our Trade Union partners will now postpone Thursday’s strikes.”
SNP MP Deidre Brock has called on the Royal Mail to stop the threats of job cuts to postal workers and engage meaningfully with the Communications Worker Union to find an acceptable solution to prevent further postal strikes.
In a joint letter from SNP MPs to the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Mail, the Royal Mail Chief was told that it is “unacceptable to see the language employed by Royal Mail in threatening its workforce with job losses because they dare to ask for a fair work package.”
Postal workers across the UK are on strike again today, with several more strike days planned for early next month, from the 2nd of November to the 4th of November.
Last week, the Royal Mail’s announced its intention to slash 10,000 jobs, citing the strike action and low parcel delivery sales as the reason. Deidre Brock MP has described this move as a “tactic” and has accused Royal Mail of “acting in bad faith”.
Ms Brock added: “Postal workers across Edinburgh North and Leith are struggling to make ends meet in the face of soaring energy and food costs while Royal Mail shareholders benefit from bumper profits in the millions.
“Royal Mail staff and their families need financial security. The decision to strike will not have been easy for any of them, but this is about more than pay; it is also about protecting the postal service we all rely on and value.
“Rather than making threats to workers, Royal Mail need to get back to the negotiating table – in a meaningful way – and put our communities at the heart of discussions.”
Following a meeting of Council Leaders yesterday, Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson, said: “I am pleased to get this year’s pay deal for the Local Government Workforce concluded and over the line. This now enables us to get money into the pockets of the workforce as quickly as we possibly can.
“This is a deal that clearly shows Scotland’s Council Leaders have listened to the very real concerns of our workforce and have responded positively.
“Council Leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we value the work of our Local Government Workforce and are grateful for the difference they make within communities across Scotland.
“We also believe that it is a good deal which is about more than just pay. It is a package that includes an extra day’s holiday for SJC [Scottish Joint Council] staff on a recurring basis and payment of SSSC [Scottish Social Services Council] fees from this year onwards.”
COP26:First Minister calls on leaders to step up and secure successful outcome
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that the Scottish Government will increase its fund for climate justice by a further 50% on top of the previous commitment to double the fund as part of Scotland’s response and contribution to the ongoing negotiations at COP26.
Calling on larger countries with more resources to recognise their moral responsibility and adopt a “can-do” attitude for the final days of COP26 to secure a successful outcome, the First Minister said: “It is clear that fair climate finance is the key to making real progress at COP26.
“Every vulnerable or developing country I have spoken with has big ambitions for meeting the climate crisis but they do not have the funding for adaptation, for mitigation, or for tackling the loss and damage that is needed to deliver.
“Twelve years on from the commitment by developed nations to provide funding of 100 billion dollars a year, that is simply not good enough.
“It is time for leaders of developed countries, large and small, to do what is needed to bridge the remaining gap, and put on the table now the money that is needed to make good on past commitments and unlock progress in other areas.
“Scotland is a relatively small country of just five million people, and we do not have substantial powers of borrowing. That means our contribution will always be relatively small in a global context. However, we can still lead by example and there has never been a more vital time to do so.
“All of my conversations with delegates from the global south over these two weeks – and the obvious need to increase the overall ambition of the draft cover text published yesterday – have convinced me that rich countries must do more on finance in the final hours of COP if we are to secure the best possible outcome. That is not charity, it is our obligation.
“Accordingly, the Scottish Government – having already committed to doubling our climate justice fund to £24 million in this Parliament – has now decided to increase it by a further £12 million. That means since the fund opened in 2012, we will have trebled Scotland’s contribution to Climate Justice.
“This increased funding will also build on our ground breaking contribution to loss and damage, by doubling our contribution to addressing loss and damage to £2 million.
“My message today is simple. If Scotland can up its contribution, there is no good reason why the larger, developed countries around the negotiating table cannot do so too.
“I call on all leaders to step up and secure the outcome from this Glasgow COP that our planet needs.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on ministers and negotiators to come together and bridge the gaps remaining to reach consensus at COP26, as he travels to Glasgow in the final days of the climate summit today (Wednesday 10 November).
The COP26 Glasgow visit will come as welcome diversion for Mr Johnson, who has been heavily criticised for his handling of Tory Party sleaze and corruption allegations over the last week.
Negotiators from 197 parties are in intensive talks to reach agreement on a range of key issues, including a common time frame for national commitments on emissions reductions and agreed methodology for countries to report on their climate action. These important technical points will help to ensure that commitments are translated into action.
They are also working to agree progress on finance for nations most vulnerable to climate change and to address the issue of loss and damage in developing countries.
The negotiations run alongside a series of government and private sector commitments on coal, cars, cash and trees made by throughout the two weeks of COP26 under the UK’s presidency, with the goal of keeping the 1.5C target alive.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Negotiating teams are doing the hard yards in these final days of COP26 to turn promises into action on climate change.
“There’s still much to do. Today I’ll be meeting with ministers and negotiators to hear about where progress has been made and where the gaps must be bridged.
“This is bigger than any one country and it is time for nations to put aside differences and come together for our planet and our people.
“We need to pull out all the stops if we’re going to keep 1.5C within our grasp.”
The Prime Minister will be joined by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Glasgow and will meet with representatives from the heads of delegations’ negotiating teams and the observer groups, which represent a cross-section of civil society.
