Cosla defends pay deal amid threat of 90,000 council workers going on strike

By Sarah Ward, Reporter11th September 202411th September 2024News ScotlandLocal Authorities, News Scotland, Pay and Conditions, Workforce

Council leaders have said they remain “hopeful” union members will accept the latest pay offer – after it emerged that 90,000 council staff could be balloted for strike action.

Cosla, the organisation which represents Scotland’s local authorities, defended the pay deal, insisting that it would benefit the majority of workers.

Unison, which includes the largest number of local authority workers in Scotland, announced on Tuesday that it may broaden a strike ballot to all council workers in the union, totalling 90,000 people.

Last week, 86% of Unison members in waste, recycling and street cleaning sectors, as well as early years, rejected a pay offer from Cosla (the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities), although GMB and Unite accepted it.

The deal offered is an hourly increase of either 67p or 3.6% depending on what is higher, and “bottom-weighted”, to benefit lowest paid staff.

Cosla said that, if accepted, it will mean most members of the workforce will see at least a 4.27% pay rise, with 75% of full-time workers guaranteed a £1,292 uplift, which represents a 5.63% increase to the Scottish Government Living Wage.

Cosla’s resources spokeswoman, Katie Hagmann, chaired a meeting of the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) steering group this week, and praised “important and useful discussions” but urged for Unison to “reconsider”.

Ms Hagmann said: “Everyone noted that we must reach a swift agreement so we can ensure a speedy settlement. Union colleagues are still working to reach agreement in light of Unison’s position that the offer needs to be improved.

“I took the opportunity to highlight the strength of our offer, which has been overwhelmingly accepted by Unite and GMB members.

“The offer would see more than half (55%) of workers getting an increase of at least 4.27% with those at lower pay points receiving a gradually higher increase – up to 5.63% at the first pay point on our scales – meaning waste, school support and social care staff get the rise they deserve to help tackle the effects of inflation.

“The offer is better than colleagues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will get this year, and is higher than inflation.”

She added: “At the request of all three unions, the offer is bottom-weighted to ensure there is a greater increase for those lowest paid – 75% of our workforce would see an uplift of £1,292 (for full-time roles).

“That’s a 5.63% increase to the Scottish Local Government living wage which is the first point on our pay scales. No worker will receive less than a 3.6% increase.

“Council leaders greatly value our workforce and the front-line services they provide across Scotland and within all our communities, and we remain hopeful that Unison Members will reconsider and accept this good offer.”

Unison currently has strike mandates in 13 Scottish councils, as well as one for Cireco – a specialist arms-length waste management company.

It also has five mandates for strike action in education, and rejected the offer citing a “25% real-terms pay cut over the last 14 years”.

Finance secretary Shona Robison on Tuesday accused Unison of risking causing delays to all council workers getting a backdated pay award.

Unison Scotland lead for local government, David O’Connor, said: “Councillor Hagman’s statement is unacceptable. As she knows, Unison is by far the largest local government union and any pay offer must demonstrate that all staff are valued.

“She also knows that 14 years of Cosla pay offers have resulted in the value of local government pay falling by 25%. She chose to ignore our warnings and proceeded with a pay offer that neither compensates staff for the years of pay erosion nor reflects the essential contributions of all dedicated council staff.

“That’s why thousands of members have voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s pay offer and to take strike action. Her statement does a disservice to the hardworking people who keep our local government functioning.”