Council workers to vote on strikes after 'imposed' pay rise

Unison school staff took strike action in November last year over a previous pay deal

More than 90,000 council staff will be balloted on strike action after council leaders imposed a pay deal on them that was rejected by their union.

Workers will get a rise of 3.6% or £1,292 a year, in a package that Unison has branded a "bitter disappointment".

Council leaders approved the deal, which covers almost all staff except teachers, at their regular meeting of the council umbrella body Cosla.

The offer was made in August to see off the threat of bin strikes. It has been backed by members of Unite and the GMB unions.

Unison Scotland's local government lead David O'Connor said the union was finalising a timetable to ballot members on strike action.

He said: "Just two days ago, Cosla’s lead negotiator Katie Hagmann and the cabinet secretary for local government Shona Robinson assured the union they were committed to a negotiated settlement.

"Now, they’ve resorted to some of the worst employment practices by imposing this deal.

"They should be utterly ashamed of themselves."

The pay offer was made in August to see off the threat of bin strikes

Unison is contrasting the rise council workers are getting - which is worth around 4.2% on average - with the 5.5% rise awarded to NHS staff in Scotland.

Cosla argued the pay offer was the best one possible. It said that a bigger rise would lead to more cuts in services or job losses.

Council workers who will receive the pay deal include bin workers, janitors, catering staff, early years workers and non-teaching school staff.

The pay offer made in August was an improvement on the previous one which was worth 3.2% for all staff and was made possible after the Scottish government made more resources available.

Cosla's resources spokesperson, Katie Hagmann, said: "Leaders have fully considered the views of our three Trade Unions, including the concerns expressed by GMB and Unite about the cost of living and financial pressures.

"This does not mean that discussions will end.

"Cosla remains committed to the negotiation process and we will continue dialogue with all our Trade Union partners, with the ambition reach a collective agreement."

All available funding

The Scottish government has already made it clear it cannot provide more for pay this year.

Finance and Local Government Secretary Shona Robison said: "Although the Scottish government has no formal role in these negotiations, we have provided £77.5m to support this offer which Unite and GMB members overwhelmingly voted to accept.

"I hope that Unison members recognise the strength of this offer.

“I confirmed to Cosla and unions when we met that the Scottish government has utilised all available funding to support local government pay."

Unison already has mandates for strike action by staff in street cleaning, waste and recycling in 13 council areas, as well as workers at Cireco - a separate waste management contractor.

It also has mandates for strike action by staff in schools and early years in Perth and Kinross, Shetland, Orkney, East Renfrewshire and Angus.

It will now ballot remaining council staff across the country.