Inverclyde Council has announced that the majority of its 4,000 members of staff will receive a pay rise before Christmas.
The council will implement a pay increase agreed by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) leaders earlier this month. The increase is part of a revised pay offer from COSLA and the Scottish government, which will increase the wages of the lowest-paid employees by £2,000 a year, for the second year in succession during the cost-of-living crisis.
Trade union Unison recommended that its local members accept the offer, while the GMB and Unite unions had already accepted a different offer. Despite the ballot of Unison members closing next week, the council decided to implement the pay rise now to ensure staff and their families are supported over the festive period and through winter.
Inverclyde Council has also agreed to implement the Living Wage Foundation’s new real living wage of £12 an hour with immediate effect.
Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council and convener of policy and resources, said: “Given the ongoing financial challenges we are all facing, it was felt that this is an appropriate course of action to ensure extra money is in the pockets of our hard-working employees as soon as possible. We recognise the financial challenges people are facing because of the cost-of-living crisis, including our own workforce. That only gets worse at this time of year with Christmas just around the corner and as winter really starts to take hold.
“That’s why, following consultation with the local Unison branch, we have taken the decision to implement the pay increase now in full to support council staff and their families rather than waiting until the outcome of the ballot is known. I’m also pleased that members of the committee agreed unanimously to implement the new real living wage with immediate effect rather than waiting until April 2024.”