The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has agreed to an improved pay offer with trade union Unison, which it has committed to put to its members with a recommendation to accept.
Strikes that were due to take place across Scotland have been suspended following negotiations between the Scottish government, COSLA and Unison, in which they decided upon improvements to the employer’s offer.
These included an increase of £2,000 for those earning up to £20,500, £1,925 for those earning between £20,500 to £39,000, a 5% increase for those earning between £39,000 to £60,000, and a maximum increase of £3,000 for those earning above £60,000.
The negotiations also decided on full consolidation from the date of implementation, that the calculations would be based on a 36 rather than a 37-hour week, one extra day of annual leave and the removal of social care registration fees where application.
Johanna Baxter, head of local government in Scotland at Unison, said: “This offer is a victory for Unison members. COSLA originally offered 2%, then 3.5%, then 5%. Now we have £600 million on the table, which is a 7.5% increase to the total pay bill and 87% of our council workers will receive fully consolidated increases of between 5% to 10%.
“Unison’s local government members are no longer prepared to be treated as the poor relations of the public sector. They will stand up, speak up and organise to win change together. There is always more to do but this is a welcome step in the right direction.”
Councillor Katie Hagmann, resources spokesperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, added: “Firstly I would like to thank all our trade union colleagues for the constructive discussions. The revised offer made shows that Scotland’s council leaders have listened to the concerns of our workforce and have responded positively. Council leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we very much value and are grateful to the local government workforce.”