Local authority employees in Scotland have been offered a 2.2% pay increase from 1 April.
The new pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) also included a 2% increase from 1 October 2024.
A statement from COSLA said the offer was ‘at the limit of affordability’.
‘Following a number of very constructive SJC Steering Group negotiating meetings in recent weeks, COSLA has today [23rd May] written to the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) Trade Unions with a formal pay offer for the SJC Local Government workforce,’ read the statement.
‘This offer is for a settlement which runs for an 18-month period of 1st April 2024 to 30th September 2025. There will be a 2.2% uplift from 1st April, with a further 2% uplift taking effect from 1 October. This therefore includes a change in the settlement date to 1 October.’
Last week, UNISON said council workers in Scotland were considering strike action because ‘employers are miles away from offering anything staff are likely to accept’.
Responding to the offer, chair of UNISON Scotland’s local government committee, Colette Hunter, said the offer 'falls short of the level local government workers deserve and the union is recommending staff vote to reject it when they are consulted next week.'
Unite has also rejected the offer, and the proposal to change the pay anniversary date from April to October on the basis that it is an attempt to 'kick the can down the road'.
