Trade unions representing local government workers across Scotland (UNISON, Unite and GMB) have submitted their pay claim to local government today.
The pay claim was submitted to COSLA (employers) by the Trade Union side of the Scottish Local Government Joint Council for the period 1 April 2018 to 31st March 2019 at a meeting of the Scottish Joint Council at 2pm today.
The trade unions are clear that this year’s pay settlement must protect workers from the sharp rise in inflation (the OBR is forecasting RPI inflation this year of 3.3.%), start to reverse the many years of real terms cuts to wages through pay restoration, and protect the lowest paid.
Trade unions have asked for a £1,500 flat rate increase to all, or 6.5%, whichever is greater. This is based on an above inflation increase plus an element of restoration.
The detailed points of the pay claim are:
- A settlement that runs for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.
- A £1,500 flat rate increase to all spinal column points, or 6.5%, whichever is greater (based on a 37 hour working week). This includes an above inflation increase plus an element of restoration and should be applied after the Scottish Local Government Living Wage increase has taken effect.
- An equivalent percentage uprating of the Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW), with the SLGLW being used as the minimum pay level for pay and all allowances.
- An equivalent percentage or, the median paid where the base salary increase is paid as a flat rate, uprating of all allowances.
- A commitment to redress the imbalance in pay, caused by previous pay awards which have been below the rate of inflation, over a period of not more than 5 years.
Read more on the UNISON Scotland site