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UNISON to consult on Scottish pay offer

UNISON Scotland is set to consult members on a pay offer for local government workers. Dougie Black, Joint Trade Union Side Secretary, said that today’s offer from COSLA will be discussed initially at a conference in Glasgow next Friday (30 Nov).

He said: “The offer was made to us at a meeting of the joint secretaries which was not a negotiating meeting.

“The employers are offering a 1% pay increase from April 1 2013, a one year settlement. That is no real surprise given government pay policy.

“They have also made an offer to apply what they call a Scottish Local Government Living Wage of £7.50 per hour from April 1 2013.

“We welcome the fact they have made an offer on the Living Wage as this has been part of our claim for the last couple of years. We would need to discuss with the employers their proposals for implementation and the details of how it would apply.”

Stephanie Herd, Chair of the union’s Local Government Committee, said: “We have a local government conference on Friday next week. We will ask delegates how they want to consult members over the next few weeks. We would then expect to take the results of that consultation back to the employers in the New Year.”