Strike preparation may begin as early as next week as anger grows over local government pay talks, a union has said.
Unison, the union representing 85,000 council workers, has accused local government body Cosla of “learning nothing” from significant industrial action which closed schools last year.
The union said staff were due a cost-of-living pay increase in April after a claim was submitted to Cosla in January.
However, it is understood the union has not yet had a response.
The pay claim saw the union ask for an above one-year inflation increase for those on the lowest wages, on top of the previously agreed plan to introduce the minimum rate to £15 per hour by 2026.
READ MORE: Lilian Macer: Government must help us to rescue Scotland's college sector
It also asks for a 7% increase to all spinal columns – or pay scales – or a £1.60 increase to the hourly rate, whichever is greater.
Last year, schools in several parts of the country closed over the dispute before it was eventually resolved.
Addressing the latest pay dispute, David O’Connor, Unison’s local government organiser, said: “Cosla has to understand the growing anger among local government workers over how they are treated year after year in pay negotiations.
“It is no wonder local government workers are left feeling disappointed and frustrated when their employers haven’t even bothered to respond to the pay claim.
“Without investment in the local government workforce there will be no public services – Cosla must recognise local government workers for the vital services they provide and ensure they are fairly rewarded.”
Colette Hunter, the union’s local government chair, said: “It would appear that Cosla has learned nothing from last year’s pay dispute which resulted in school closures across Scotland.
“The last thing anyone wants to do is take strike action, but if Cosla continue to ignore our pay claim then we may be left with no choice.
“While strike action is always a last resort, our local government committee is currently considering all options and preparations for strike action could begin as early as next week.”
Cosla has been asked for comment.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here