Second union ‘overwhelmingly’ backs latest pay offer from council body
Unite the Union has decided to accept a minimum increase of almost £1,300 per year, following GMB Scotland whose members also accepted.
A second union has voted in favour of a revised pay offer from the body that represents all Scottish councils.
Workers represented by Unite, spanning all 32 local authorities, accepted the new offer of a rise of 67 pence an hour or 3.6%, whichever is better.
This means a minimum increase of £1,292 for the lowest paid council workers and comes after GMB union members accepted the offer last week.
However, council workers represented by Unison announced on Tuesday they had rejected the offer, with 86% of members voting no to the updated deal.
This means there is still the threat of bin strikes taking place.
A total of 71% of Unite’s local government members voted for the new offer, which the union said amounts to an average 4.24% increase this financial year.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Unite’s members have overwhelmingly voted to accept Cosla’s revised pay offer.
“A minimum increase of nearly £1,300 for the lowest paid will be a welcome boost to the pay packets of our members who provide vital frontline local services.
“Make no mistake that it was down to our members’ guts and determination that an improved pay offer was finally put on the table which will now help to deliver better jobs, pay and conditions for workers across all Scottish councils.”
Graham McNab, Unite’s lead negotiator for local government, added: “Unite’s council representatives once again took the lead in securing a credible pay offer which has been backed by the wider membership.
“The deal will lift the pay of all council employees above inflation for the first time in years.
“Time and again we end up in a summer farce over council pay. Unite wants to be perfectly clear that we want council pay resolved at a far earlier stage in the process.
“It should not take until the cusp of strike action for Cosla and the Scottish government to come up with a fair pay offer.”
The initial offer made by Cosla (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) was 2.2% from April 1 to September 30 2024, and 2% for a 12-month period starting October 1 this year until September 30 2025.
Unite rejected the offer, as well as a subsequent 3.2% offer made in July.
Keir Greenaway, GMB’s senior organiser in public service, said the pay rise must reach members without further delay.
He said: “It may have taken the threat of industrial action to secure this offer but it is above inflation and weighted to benefit frontline workers most.
“That is what all the unions had asked for and it is what our members voted for. Councils must now act with urgency to ensure it is delivered as quickly as possible.
“Our members have already been forced to wait five months during needlessly delayed negotiations.
“They should not be asked to wait a minute longer.”
Unison, the largest local government union, said on Tuesday the offer was not good enough.
Unison local government committee chair Colette Hunter previously said: “Cosla and the Scottish Government need to understand the anger among council staff.
“They want a fair increase to stop their pay consistently falling behind, and for their wage increase to be in line with other areas of the economy.
“The last thing anyone wants to do is go on strike, but local government workers deserve better.
“This result must be a wake-up call and get the employers and Government to invest in local services and the staff who deliver them.”
Finance secretary Shona Robison said: “I am delighted that Unite members have voted to accept this pay offer. They join members of GMB in recognising the clear benefit of this above-inflation offer for all workers, especially the lowest paid.
“The offer will see the lowest-paid workers receive an increase of 5.62% which is equivalent to £1,292 a year or nearly £25 per week. Most workers will receive an increase of more than 4.0%.
“While this government fully respects the decision by Unison members to reject the offer, I would urge members to reconsider.
“The Scottish Government will continue to work constructively with Cosla as efforts continue to secure a deal and avert industrial action, which is in no one’s interests.”
Cosla has been approached for comment.
