Bosses’ pay row jobs threat is ‘blackmail’
Union fury over COSLA’s role in negotiations
COUNCIL bosses have been accused of “blackmail” over claims an inflation-linked pay rise for staff risks 20,000 jobs.
Local authority umbrella group COSLA is proposing to sound the alarm over jobs after trade unions hit out at a two per cent offer.
Johanna Baxter, of the Unison union, said: “What sort of society do we live in when employers try to force the lowest paid public sector workers to take a derisory pay offer or face the threat of job losses? This is nothing short of blackmail.”
Wendy Dunsmore, of the Unite union, said: “Any suggestion that a fair and decent pay rise for local government workers will lead to job cuts is not only factually incorrect but offensive.
“COSLA has consistently capitulated to the Scottish Government instead of fighting for local government workers.”
Tens of thousands of council staff are being balloted for strike action over the pay stand-off.
A walkout would include staff in waste and cleansing services as well as key workers in schools.
COSLA, which negotiates with unions on pay, wants to offer more than two per cent but believes its hands are tied by the funding settlement offered by the Scottish Government.
A COSLA meeting will today consider a paper, obtained by the Record, focusing on the “impact on jobs” of a bigger rise without extra cash from the Government.
The proposed strategy states: “If we were to consider additional increases to the current offer of two per cent, this could be expressed as the number of jobs that may be impacted.
“Any additional one per cent increase to our offer for these groups would cost the same as retaining 2500 jobs (£90million). To match [trade union] expectations of a 10 per cent pay rise would mean adding eight per cent on top of the current offer and would therefore equate to almost 20,000 jobs across all grades and services.”
It added: “Leaders are therefore asked to approve taking such an approach to future communications to highlight the impact of any revised offer that is made.”
Council chiefs are also anxious that the recent spending review by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes earmarked a council funding freeze until 2026. Sources believe it would inevitably lead to job losses and limit the scope for pay rises.
The Scottish Government said: “Pay settlements for council workers, excluding teachers, are a matter for COSLA and are determined through negotiations at the Scottish Joint Committee (SJC). As it is not a member of the SJC, the Scottish Government cannot intervene in pay negotiations, which are for the trade unions to negotiate with COSLA.”