Local government workers willing to ‘strike over pay’

LOCAL government workers have indicated that they are prepared to take industrial action over pay, a union has said.

Unison said an indicative ballot of members found that 89.8% of respondents said they would be willing to take some form of action up to and including a strike in pursuit of an acceptable offer.

It has written to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) about the issue in a joint letter with Unite and the GMB.

The letter claims that the employer has failed to come up with an acceptable pay offer for local government workers and says their pay has been held down for too many years.

It states that union negotiators will remain available for further talks to ensure the dispute can be resolved promptly.

Unison said it will now be moving to a formal industrial action ballot.

Johanna Baxter, Unison Scotland head of local government, said: “It’s obvious that Cosla hasn’t been considering pay as a key issue for council staff. This is poor judgment on their behalf and shows a disappointing lack of engagement.

“For too many years, pay in local government has been held down and the cost-of-living crisis is pushing many hard-working people into poverty. This will not go unnoticed at the local elections.

“Industrial action is always a last resort but workers are desperate to be heard.

“Whoever wins the election will have to stand up for workers and come to the negotiating table so workers don’t have to resort to taking action.”

A Cosla spokesperson said: “We remain in ongoing discussions with our trade union colleagues in relation to pay.”