A pay offer to council workers has been emphatically rejected by members of one union, with 94% of respondents to a ballot voting against it.
The GMB, which said more than 20,000 of its members voted in the ballot, claimed the offer from local authority body Cosla amounts to a 5.5% pay increase.
According to Cosla, those on the lowest wages would see an increase of up to 9.1%, and those earning more than £38,585 would get just over 6%.
Keir Greenaway, the Scotland organiser for the union, said it was “absolutely no surprise” the offer was rejected, claiming it was “clearly not good enough”.
GMB Scotland members overwhelmingly reject councils’ pay offer
Thousands of GMB Scotland members working for the country’s local authorities have overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer. https://t.co/sYqK1lzVUH pic.twitter.com/YbGwY8pi1J
— GMB Scotland (@GMBScotOrg) April 21, 2023
He added: “This offer would short-change Scots council workers by hundreds of pounds compared to colleagues in England and Wales.
“Given the strength of feeling and determination to secure a pay offer that reflects the rising cost of living, it is now imperative that Cosla and Scottish Government work together with urgency and commitment to fund a fair and acceptable offer.
“If, for whatever reason, that does not happen and happen quickly, we will waste no time in escalating this dispute to ensure serious negotiations can begin.”
The vote came after the GMB urged its members – including bin collectors, school cleaners and home carers – to reject the deal.
It is understood results of ballots on the offer are expected from the Unite and Unison trade unions next week.
