Unite the union members are to be asked to reject the latest pay offer by COSLA, the body representing Scotland’s local authorities. The ballot will start on 14th of January to the 29th.

Elaine Dougal, Unite regional coordinating officer, said:

“Unite’s local authority representatives have recommended that our membership reject the revised pay offer. The reality remains that even with the slight increase for 2018, it still represents a significant pay cut and does not restore us anywhere close to real terms pay levels from a decade ago.

“The committee also judged that being tied into a three year deal in the context of all the uncertainties surrounding Brexit could in fact result in an additional pay cut if inflation rises.”

Unite’s local authority members previously rejected the 3% pay offer by 73% in October 2018.

Unite’s Offshore Members have accepted the revised pay deal offered to them by employers.

The revised pay offer in December 2018 consisted of a proposed increase in the D1 hourly rate based on a Category B craftsperson of 4.8% for 2019 and 4% for 2020.

John Boland, Unite regional industrial officer, said:

“After a long process, Unite members have accepted the revised pay offer by the OCA.

“The two year pay deal represents a significant improvement on the initial OCA offer, which has been recognised by our offshore members who perform difficult and arduous jobs.

“We are pleased that following this democratic decision by our membership that we can put this period of uncertainty behind us.”