Strike Ballot will go ahead

More than 90,000 council and school staff in Scotland are to be balloted for strike action over pay, UNISON says today (Friday).

The move by Scotland’s largest local government union follows the decision by employers’ body Cosla to impose a wage rise already rejected by a majority of the workforce.

The current offer from Cosla includes an hourly increase of 67p (or 3.6%), whichever is higher. However, the union says this falls short of expectations given the 25% real-terms pay cut over the past 14 years.

UNISON Scotland local government lead David O’Connor said: “To say this is a bitter disappointment is an understatement.

“Just two days ago, Cosla’s lead negotiator Councillor Katie Hagman and the cabinet secretary for local government and finance Shona Robinson MSP 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.

“Councils are in a state of crisis. They’re grappling with severe recruitment challenges, leaving the workers they have to do more with fewer resources and lower wages.

“Local authority employees and the essential services they provide are under untenable pressure. The only viable solution is to grant these dedicated staff the higher pay rise they rightly deserve.”

“There are already live strike mandates at 19 employers and the union will move quickly to fix dates for those workplaces. UNISON is also finalising a timetable to ballot its entire membership affected by local government pay settlements.

“Council staff are the backbone of society, providing essential services that keep everything running smoothly. “It’s both upsetting and infuriating to see that they’re once again so undervalued. Politicians have enjoyed pay rises upwards of 6.7%, but they’re telling dedicated workers to limit their expectations. This disparity is unacceptable and must be addressed immediately.”

UNISON Scotland local government committee chair Colette Hunter said: “Thousands of council workers have already overwhelmingly rejected Cosla’s pay offer. They’re demanding a fair increase to prevent their pay from consistently lagging behind and to ensure their wage rise is in line with other sectors of the economy.

“Staff are outraged that the current offer falls significantly short of their pay claim and is well below the 5.5% awarded to NHS colleagues.”