William Eichler 11 July 2025

Unions back Scottish local government pay offer

Unions back Scottish local government pay offer image
A member of the trade union GMB. © Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com.

Local authority leaders in Scotland have welcomed the decision by Unite and GMB members to accept the latest two-year pay offer.

The unions have joined UNISON’s members in agreeing to accept a deal worth 4% this year and 3.5% in 2026/27.

Graham McNab, Unite’s lead negotiator for local government, said: ‘Scottish council workers have given their backing to a decent pay rise covering the next two years.

‘We are pleased the negotiations were held in a far more productive way this year than in the past and this should set a benchmark for future years.’

COSLA's resources spokesperson, Cllr Katie Hagmann, commented: ‘Councils are now able take forward work to get the pay increase of 7.64% over the two-year period into the pockets of our workforce.

‘While the agreement will have come too late for most councils’ July pay runs we know that payroll teams locally will be working hard to implement the uplift and any backpay due in the next months.’

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