Local government pay offer revised in Scotland after staff back strike action

Story updated 22 July 2024*

Council staff in Scotland have received a revised pay offer for 2024-25 after union members backed strike action.

Employers’ body COSLA yesterday offered staff a 3.2% rise, compared with its initial proposal of a 2.2% increase from 1 April to 30 September 2024, followed by a 2% pay boost over the subsequent year. This would have enabled a change in the pay award date from 1 April to 1 October.

Over the 2024-25 financial year, the offer is worth the same as the previous one, but COSLA said it had listened to feedback from the unions about the proposed change in the pay settlement date.

The development followed UNISON’s announcement that waste, recycling and street cleaning staff in 14 of the 32 councils had voted in favour of strike action over the initial pay offer, which the union dubbed “inadequate”.

Staff from the same services represented by the other two unions, GMB and Unite, had already backed strike action.

‘A way to go to reach an agreement’

Following the revised offer, UNISON Scotland’s local government lead David O’Connor said: “This offer has been made hours after UNISON announced the result of our strike ballot of waste, recycling and street cleaning staff.  We should not have to threaten rubbish piling up in the streets just to get a revised pay offer on the table.

“We clearly have a way to go to reach an agreement. However, we want to do everything we can to avoid strikes and our local government committee will meet tomorrow morning (Friday) to consider this latest offer, and we are meeting the employer COSLA later in the day for further discussions.”

COSLA had described its initial offer, made in May, as being at the “limits of affordability” and made a similar comment about its new proposal.

Offer ‘at absolute limit of affordability’

COSLA’s resources spokesperson, Katie Hagmann, said: “After listening to our trade union colleagues, the offer does not propose a change in the pay settlement date, which featured in our earlier offer. It is important to stress that this revised, fair offer is at the absolute limit of affordability for councils, given the severe financial constraints local government is facing.”

The employers’ body pointed out that the offer was more than the current rate of inflation (2%), according to the government’s preferred consumer prices index, and above that stipulated for other public sector staff in 2024-25 by the Scottish Government.

“It is a strong, fair and credible pay offer, reflecting the high value council leaders place on the local government workforce and the invaluable work they do every day serving communities across Scotland.”

*The story originally said that the new offer represented an improvement on the previous one. However, over the course of the 2024-25 financial year, it is worth the same. We apologise for the error.