Give cash bonus to frontline PKC staff
Perth and Kinross councillors believe council frontline workers should get a £ 500 bonus just like NHS and social care staff in recognition of their efforts during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Leader Murray Lyle. a Conservative elected member for Strathallan, and the council’s leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Peter Barrett, both want to see council employees honoured.
Earlier this month the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) called for the £500 bonus payments to be extended to local government workers.
And Conservative elected member Cllr Lyle said he would “absolutely support that.”
On November 30 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the SNP’s conference that the money would be given to all full-time NHS and social care workers employed since March 17 this year – including staff who were shielding or have since retired.
Cllr Lyle attended a virtual COSLA meeting on Friday, December 11, where he said council leaders unanimously backed a Labour amendment on an extension of the £500 policy.
While Scotland’s council leaders welcomed the £500 policy for health and social care staff, they also said they felt it missed thousands of key workers in local government.
Cllr Lyle spoke of his misgivings about the SNP policy.
He said: “All councils feel that their frontline staff have been challenged. It’s
[the £500 bonus] not gone down too well with some of our staff.”
Cllr Barrett said he would also like to see council staff rewarded for their efforts during the pandemic.
He declared: “Council staff performed heroically to keep essential services going throughout the pandemic.
“Their commitment to delivering essential frontline services kept people safe, preserved health and wellbeing, protected jobs and prevented hunger.
“Those workers do not deserve to be treated as the poor relations to their NHS counterparts by Nicola Sturgeon and the
Scottish Government.
“Their efforts should be rewarded with the same £500 payment and not overlooked. We say reward all key workers.”
Ms Sturgeon was questioned about the COLSA proposal at a recent Scottish Government daily briefing.
She said a “whole host of other professions” had been through “a really tough year”.
Ms Sturgeon said: “We can never thank them enough.”
She added: “Those on the frontline on the health service have had a particularly
tough time and that £ 500 payment is meant to be a thank you for it.
“It is not meant in any way to downplay the contribution of others.”
Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government had a direct employment relationship with the NHS and it would be up to councils to reward their employees.
She said: “It would be up to them if they wanted to replicate the position of the Scottish Government.”
The First Minister said the Scottish Government would continue to look at ways to show their appreciation for the contribution of different groups.