Workers reject new pay deal as ‘totally unacceptable’

West Dunbartonshire Council’s offices in Church Street, Dumbarton.

By Bill Heaney

A new pay deal for local government workers in West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute has been rejected as “not credible and totally unacceptable”.

COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities0 has told local government trade union representatives that it will not move any further on its initial offer, which proposes:

• A 3% pay increase will apply to all employees earning up to £36,500;
• A 2% pay increase will apply to all employees earning £36,501- £80,000; and
• A flat rate increase of £1,600 to employees earning more than £80,000.

However, GMB warned both COSLA and the Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek Mackay that their plans to award a part-time cleaner just £250 a year more while council chief executives would pocket around £1600 extra is not credible and totally unacceptable.

The GMB will now move forward next month with a full consultative ballot of its local government membership.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Drew Duffy said: “COSLA’s offer in its current form won’t tackle austerity and it will only increase the disparity between lowest and highest paid in Scottish local government.

“We cannot recommend support for a pay offer that has not been meaningfully negotiated in any way with the trade unions and would result in the lowest pay grades receiving the smallest increase.

“COSLA’s offer isn’t credible and it’s totally unacceptable – we won’t leave it unchallenged because our members’ pay, jobs and services have been hammered by the cuts over the last decade.

“We will now carry forward our plans for a full consultative ballot of our local government membership in Scotland and we will be strongly urging them to reject the COSLA offer, as it stands.

“Let’s be clear, if Derek Mackay and COSLA are genuinely committed to ending austerity then there must be a significant increase in the basic rate of pay of the lowest earners across local government.”