The Unison union, representing local government workers in Scotland, is urging its members to reject the latest pay offer from Cosla, the organization that represents Scotland’s 32 council leaders. According to Johanna Baxter, head of local government in Scotland for Unison, the pay offer of 5% from April with an additional increase from January 2024 “falls short” of the rate of inflation and is less than other public sector workers have received. For example, teachers in the EIS and Scottish Secondary Teachers Association recently voted to accept a 7% pay rise backdated to April 2022.
Despite the offer containing a commitment to reach a minimum underpinning rate of pay of £15 per hour, Ms. Baxter expressed concern that there was no detail on when or how this would be delivered. She also pointed out that local government workers have been the “poor relations” of the public sector, with councils facing difficult choices between paying decent wages and preserving jobs.
Johanna Baxter (Via Johanna Baxter/Twitter)
The Scottish Government agreed last year to take a role in addressing the issue, given its significant funding of local government. Unison is urging Cosla and the Scottish Government to hold urgent talks to discuss the matter further. According to Ms. Baxter, local government workers cannot continue to be treated as “second-class citizens” in the public sector.
In response, Cosla described the pay offer as “strong” and recognized the “vital role” of local government workers. Katie Hagmann, resources spokesperson for Cosla, expressed hope that Unison union colleagues would view the offer as one that balances the need for wage increases with the need to protect the long-term viability and sustainability of Scottish local government.
