COSLA U-turn on pay
- Published: 28 August 2008 08:01
- Author: Louise Hunt
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 27 August 2008 16:29
Scottish councils have backed down over imposing a three-year pay settlement, in the face of rising inflation.
The climb down follows last week's strike action by an estimated 150,000 Scottish council staff over the 2.5% three-year deal on the table.
Joe Di Paola, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' head of employers' organisation, said: "There was general acceptance that the three years would no longer be feasible."
Matt Smith, Unison Scottish secretary, said the change of heart from a three-year to one-year settlement was a "significant step", but added "that the dispute was by no means settled".
He said Unison, the GMB and Unite were still seeking a 5% or £1,000 per annum one-year settlement. "While we welcome COSLA's decision to get back round the table this is not in itself a solution and we are continuing to prepare for further action," he said.
Unison said it hoped to meet with COSLA this week.
The strike affected all councils with schools and day centres closed while rubbish collection and street cleaning were halted in many areas.
Meanwhile, negotiations on a one-year pay deal for local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are ongoing following strike action in July. Unions rejected an offer of 2.45% with an extra £100 for the bottom three pay bands.
