Falkirk Council: CoSLA ballots workers over 'credible' pay deal

The ballot follows weeks of intense negotiations between the council umbrella group CoSLA, the Scottish Government and the three trade unions – Unite, the GMB and Unison.

It is understood that the Scottish Government will fund the new pay deal to the tune of £460 million – although Deputy First Minister John Swinney made it clear yesterday (Wednesday) that this will have an impact on Holyrood’s already stretched budget.

The deal follows targeted strike action across Scotland, starting in Edinburgh where rubbish piled high in the streets during the city’s incredibly busy festivals.

In Falkirk, bins went unemptied and the recycling centres closed for eight days of industrial action as workers made clear they were not prepared to accept first two, then three per cent increases.

The unions also turned down an offer of five per cent that was not consolidated into annual wages with Unite saying “one-off sweeteners were not acceptable” in the face of a massive cost of living crisis.

The prospect of another eight days of bin strikes across the country was coupled with the threat of some schools being closed in other local authorities.

The latest offer – which saw First Minister Nicola Sturgeon personally take part in the negotiations – is also for five per cent but with conditions that are tailored to enhance the wages of the lowest paid council staff.

A minimum pay rate of £10.50 will benefit 12 per cent of the council’s workforce who are on the lowest wages.

An increase of £2000 will be incorporated fully into the pay packets of those earning less than £20,500 – around 18 per cent of council staff.

And £1925 minimum increase will be added to pay packets up to £39,500 – around 85 per cent of council staff.

All staff earning over £39,501 will get a five per cent pay rise but this will be capped at £3000.

Council employees will also get an additional day’s leave as part of the package.

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, the leader of Falkirk Council, welcomed the new offer being put to union members.

She said: “Following detailed negotiations, a fair sustainable and reasonable offer has been made to the Trade Unions which we believe to be the best that we can make within the financial envelope available.

“The offer represents a substantial increase of 10.2 per cent for our lowest paid and raises the minimum hourly rate for the SJC [local authority] workforce to £10.85.”

While all three unions have recommended acceptance, the final decision lies with the unions’ members who are now being balloted. Ballot papers will be going out shortly and voting will close on September 23.

Kevin Robertson, chair of the Falkirk Council branch of Unite, said that feedback from members has been that the offer is “acceptable”.

He said: “It’s not perfect, it’s not what we asked for but we have to be realistic and sensible and it’s one of the best deals we have had in the last ten years.”

He particularly welcomed the Scottish Government coming to the table and recognising that it had a major part to play in funding any increase.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to go through this debacle next year and everyone has learned lessons from this,” he said.