Local government staff in Scotland have received an improved pay offer after unions balloted members on taking strike action over employers' initial proposal.
Employers' body COSLA's revised offer is for a 4% increase for council staff in 2025-26, up from 3%, followed by a 3.5% rise for 2026-27.
It said its "much-improved" offer had exhausted "all available funding", including additional cash provided by the Scottish Government since the 3% proposal was made in February.
The improvement came after UNISON balloted its members across Scotland on taking industrial action over the initial offer, while fellow unions GMB and Unite did the same in respect of staff working on the Clyde Tunnel for Glasgow council, with GMB members voting in favour of a strike.
Strike threat 'forced improved offer'
UNISON, which is now balloting members on the improved proposal and recommending that they accept, said the threat of walkouts had forced COSLA to improve its offer to staff.UNISON Scotland's head of local government, David O’Connor, said: “It should not have taken the possibility of staff walkouts closing services to get COSLA and the Scottish government to listen to the workforce.
“Local authority workers were due a pay rise in April. Despite the delay, this is a sensible offer. The union will be putting the new amount to council staff over next few weeks, recommending that they accept.”
Unite and GMB are also balloting its members on the offer, with Unite recommending acceptance and GMB telling advising members that the deal is the best achievable through negotiation.
Proposal 'at the absolute limit of affordability'
COSLA's resources spokesperson, Katie Hagmann, said: “If this offer is accepted, workers will see a cumulative uplift in their pay of 7.64% by March 2027. It’s important to note that the public sector is still experiencing severe financial constraints, and the improved offer is at the absolute limit of affordability, exhausting all available funding alongside the flexibilities and additional money contributed by the Scottish Government.“It will provide our employees with much-needed certainty and stability around their income over a two-year period, at a time when cost of living pressures continue to affect many households. The offer reflects the high value we place on the local government workforce and the invaluable work they do every day serving communities across Scotland.”
Risks of price rises
The rate of inflation in the 12 months to May 2025 was 3.4%, according to the government's preferred consumer prices index (CPI) measure.In May, the Bank of England predicted that CPI inflation would rise to 3.7% later this year before falling back towards its 2% target. However, the conflict between Israel and Iran has created fears of a spike in oil prices, which would increase fuel prices in the UK.
