Thousands of Scottish council workers have voted to take strike action over the “null” 2% pay offer.
In early summer, unions distributed bulletins to staff in every local authority about potential strike action after rejecting the increase.
Unison announced on Tuesday that a majority of members in a number of council areas had responded in favor of strike action in the face of the biggest cost of living crisis in forty years.
Unions have warned that “waste will pile up and schools will close” unless council workers are offered a better deal.
Pay arrangements for council workers – with the exception of teachers – are set by Cosla (the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) through negotiations at the Scottish Joint Committee (SJC).
Workers in Glasgow, Orkney, Aberdeenshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Inverclyde councils meet the threshold for industrial action.
However, Unison said its members across all local councils were “overwhelmingly” in favor of leaving.
Johanna Baxter, the union’s head of local government, said: “Cosla leaders are meeting on Friday and must put an improved offer on the table if we are to avoid large-scale disruption to council services across Scotland.
“Council workers south of the border were yesterday offered a flat rate rise of £1,925, which for those on the lowest pay equates to a 10.5% rise.
“You have to wonder why council workers north of the border have only been offered a paltry 2% rise when the cost of living continues to rise.
“Unison was calling for a flat rate payment to help those on lower incomes. Most council workers earn less than £25k a year. It is now clear that local authority workers have had enough and are ready to strike in the coming weeks unless we see a sensible offer from Cosla on the table on Friday.
He added: “This is the biggest strike by local staff for more than a decade and it’s the first time workers in Scotland have voted to take strike action in such numbers. They really shouldn’t have to do this to get the recognition, respect and reward they deserve.”
GMB Scotland senior organizer Keir Greenaway said: “Unless ministers and COSLA make a significantly improved consultation pay offer to our members, then strike action is taking place in these vital services.
“The 2 per cent that has already been massively rejected is a disgraceful proposal, costs less than a tenner a week extra for those earning £25,000 or less and will turn the cost of living crisis into a disaster for many workers and their families.
“Two years ago these workers were cheered on the doorstep by political leaders, but now they are being told to take massive real-world pay cuts ahead of a brutal winter with double-digit inflation forecast and energy bills in excess of £3,000.”
Scottish Conservative Party chairman Craig Hoy MSP said: “This strike is deeply worrying – particularly the threat of school closures at the start of the new term. Students in Scotland have suffered enough during the pandemic without their education being further affected.
“Amid the global cost-of-living crisis, it is understandable that workers are seeking a fair and substantial wage increase.”
“But the root cause of this problem is the SNP government – because they have been systematically underfunding local authorities in Scotland for years, making it impossible for councils to meet pay requirements.
“This year alone funding for local authorities has been cut by £251 million in real terms under COSLA.
“Nicola Sturgeon must act immediately to prevent these catastrophic strikes.
“Our members are angry and scared and the prospect of tens of thousands of council workers joining the growing ranks of the working poor is not something the GMB is prepared to let go unchallenged.”
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