Unions want council staff to get pay rise

Trade unions have submitted their 2018-2019 pay claim – for an increase of 6.5 per cent of £1500 if greater for all workers – to local government organisation COSLA.

Representatives from the GMB, Unison and Unite also want to see an equivalent increase in the baseline Scottish local government living wage, and“a commitment to redress the imbalance in pay”caused by previous below-inflation pay awards.

Johanna Baxter of Unison said local government workers should benefit from the Holyrood government’s plan to lift the public-sector pay cap and called for councils to receive sufficient funding to implement wage rises.

She said:“We welcome the Scottish Government’s intention; our members, working hard to deliver a good public service in councils, should be covered by this commitment.

“They have suffered a real-terms loss in pay over the past 10 years of some 15 per cent; this year’s settlement must start to reverse this, protect workers from the sharp rise in inflation, and protect the lowest-paid.

“It is untenable for the Scottish Government to starve authorities of funding – austerity has meant £1.4bn of efficiency savings in Scottish local government since 2012; 30,000 people have lost their jobs over the past five years and the remaining staff are expected to do more for less.”

GMB Scotland senior organiser Drew Duffy said:“For too long, council workers have been treated like the poor relations of our public sector – it’s time the Scottish Government properly recognise and respect our members for their dedication and sacrifice through these tough times.

“For a decade, unprecedented pressure has been placed on council staff and the services they deliver. Scotland’s austerity shame is evident in littered streets, pot-holed roads, pit-stop home care and increased violence against school support staff.

“Staff at the coalface [are] working longer and harder for less; this isn’t sustainable. Against the backdrop of a six-year high in the cost of living, this claim will deliver much-needed pay rises for hard-pressed council staff.”

COSLA resources spokesperson Gail Macgregor said:“We will consider the claim carefully; taking cognisance that, as employers, pay awards have to be sustainable and affordable.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:“The local government finance settlement foresees an increase both in revenue and capital (11 per cent) investment; with the additional power to increase council tax, this will generate an increase of 1.6 per cent in overall resources to support services.”