COUNCILS STAFF VOTE TO STRIKE
WORKERS REJECT ‘MEASLY’ 2% RISE Fears over shut schools and piles of rubbish
SCHOOLS could stay shut after the summer holidays and rubbish could pile high after council staff voted for strike action over a pay dispute.
Workers in the Unison trade union voted to reject a “measly” two per cent pay offer by local authority bosses.
Unions and employers have been at loggerheads for months over an offer that is well below inflation.
Council umbrella group COSLA say they cannot afford to increase the offer and have called on the Scottish Government to stump up more money.
School staff, including cleaners and janitors, as well as workers in waste and recycling services, have now backed strike action.
Unison members in nine local authority areas – Glasgow, Orkney, Aberdeenshire, East Renfrewshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Inverclyde – met the turnout threshold required by Tory legislation.
Johanna Baxter, head of local government at Unison, said: “COSLA leaders meet on Friday and must put an improved offer on the table if we are to avoid large-scale disruption to council services across Scotland.
“Council workers south of the Border yesterday were offered a flat rate uplift of £1925, which for those on the lowest pay equates to a 10.5 per cent increase. You have to wonder why council workers north of the Border have only been offered a measly two per cent increase when the cost of living continues to spiral.
“UNISON have been calling for a flat rate payment to help those on lower incomes. Most council workers earn less than £25,000 per year.
“It is clear now that local government workers have had enough and are prepared to strike in the coming weeks unless we see a sensible offer, from COSLA, on the table on Friday.
“This is the largest strike ballot by local government workers in over a decade and the first-time workers across Scotland have voted to take strike action in these numbers.
“It really shouldn’t take this for them to receive the recognition, respect and reward that they deserve.”