Council workers could strike as union says sides are ‘miles’ apart in pay talks

The largest union in local government has said its members could take strike action over a pay offer that it describes as “miles away” from what staff could accept. Unison officials will meet on Thursday to decide whether to ballot members for strike action over the latest pay offer from Cosla, which is involved in setting salaries for local government employees. They are unhappy with the delay in a formal offer being made, saying they had been expecting to receive this last week but have now been told it could take until the last week in May. Union officials also describe the prospective pay offer of 2% or 39p per hour, as set out in a letter from Cosla, as “another real-terms pay cut” which council staff are unlikely to accept. Unison local government lead David O’Connor said: “Unison’s local government committee will meet tomorrow to decide whether we ballot our members for strike action. Local government workers are getting very frustrated with the delays. “The figures quoted by the employer are miles away from anything staff are likely to accept, it is asking council workers to take another real-terms pay cut, which is unacceptable. “No one wants a repeat...

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