UNISON ballots members on striking over local government pay offer in Scotland

UNISON is balloting its members on whether to strike in protest at this year’s local government pay offer in Scotland.

The ballot of over 80,000 members across Scotland’s 32 councils began on 1 May and follows a consultative vote in which 92% of those who participated backed staging walkouts over the 3% offer from COSLA.

The employers’ body has said that its offer “utilises the available funding” for increasing pay and represents a balance between inflation-proofing salaries and “protecting services and jobs”.

The offer is slightly higher than the rate of inflation in the year to March 2025, according to the government’s preferred consumer prices index measure (2.6%).

‘Staff have been underpaid and undervalued for too long’

However, it is worth less than half of the 6.5% pay rise sought by UNISON and fellow unions GMB and Unite.

Announcing the strike ballot, which closes on 12 June, UNISON Scotland co-lead for local government David O’Connor said that “staff had seen the value of their pay fall for more than a decade, as wages failed to keep pace with the cost of living”, and this year’s offer added to “the real financial hardship faced by employees”.

“Strike action is always a last resort, but local government workers have been underpaid and undervalued for far too long. COSLA and the Scottish government need to step up and offer a decent wage increase that reflects the value if these workers.”

While UNISON is balloting its full local government membership in Scotland, fellow unions Unite and GMB are holding a series of ballots of particular workforces, starting with Glasgow council staff who work on the city’s Clyde Tunnel.

Unions warned against ‘damaging industrial action’

In a previous consultative ballot, 96% of GMB members backed strike action if COSLA did not improve its offer.

Speaking last month, GMG Scotland senior organiser Keir Greenaway said: “The offer is nowhere close to matching the commitment of council workers, adding pennies to the hourly rate paid to the lowest-paid staff.”

In a statement last month, COSLA warned the unions against taking “damaging industrial action in pursuit of unsustainable levels of pay that would result in cuts to services and higher taxes”.

In a briefing to elected members this week, the employers’ body said negotiations were “ongoing and [continued] to make progress”.