Council workers across Scotland could soon go on strike after Unison rejected the latest pay offer from local authority umbrella group, Cosla.
The trade union - which represents more than 43,000 council workers in waste and recycling, schools and social care - said 91% of respondents rejected the 2.2% uplift being offered by employers.
Unison said they would now ballot members – including cleansing workers and school staff – on walkouts.
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Colette Hunter, chairwoman of the local government committee at the union, said: “This result must be a wake-up call for Cosla that council workers need to be rewarded fairly for the essential services they provide.
“Staff have experienced years of cuts to their pay levels and a reversal has to begin.
“The last thing anyone wants to do is go on strike, but local government workers deserve a fair increase to stop their pay lagging further behind inflation, and the wage increases being given in other sectors of the economy.
“Workers have seen the value of their pay fall over the past 10 years, often while being asked to do even more.
“They provide vital services to their communities by caring for the most vulnerable, educating children, waste and recycling and keeping people safe.
“Council workers deserve better.”
COSLA has today (Thursday 23rd May) written to the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) Trade Unions with a formal pay offer for Scotland's Local Authority workforce.
The offer from the local authorities would have run for an 18-month period, with a 2.2% uplift from 1st April, and a further 2% uplift taking effect from 1 October.
A COSLA Spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that our pay offer has been rejected by Unison. Our workforce is highly valued by Council Leaders.
"In the context of a flat cash budget settlement for Local Government we made a strong offer. The offer of 2.2% from 1st April with a further 2% from 1st October is in line with current forecasts for inflation.
"We are concerned that the threatened strike action will harm communities and put service users at risk. We remain committed to doing the best we can by our workforce, who deliver essential local services in every community across Scotland."
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