Title

PAY

Scottish council workers reject 5% pay offer

Waste service workers will today go on strike across 14 local authority areas in Scotland after trade union Unite rejected a 5% pay offer.

Waste service workers will today go on strike across 14 local authority areas in Scotland after trade union Unite rejected a 5% pay offer.

Unite's local government committee rejected outright the 5% pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). 

According to the union, for more than half of local government workers, COSLA's offer represents an increase of between £900 and £1,250.

In comparison, in England, council workers have been offered a £1,925 flat rate pay offer.

Unite industrial officer Wendy Dunsmore said: ‘It's a sad indictment that council workers in Scotland are being offered substantially less than their counterparts in England.

‘The offer on the table just doesn't help the lowest paid make ends meet.

‘This dispute will continue to escalate to a point where it could now go beyond the winter, causing months of massive nationwide disruption.'

PAY

Spending on B&Bs for homeless families soars

By By Neil Merrick | 01 October 2026

The cost to councils of placing homeless families in B&Bs has shot up by a quarter, with spending by London boroughs more than doubling, according to officia...

PAY

Rewiring the state: Shock treatment for councils?

By Steve Leach | 01 October 2026

Colin Copus and Steve Leach ask if a rewired state will lead local government to blow a fuse.

PAY

Devolution must reach the councils that deliver

By Cllr Jason Perry | 29 September 2026

Devolution must give local authorities the powers, funding and accountability to deliver, says executive mayor of Croydon Jason Perry.

PAY

Madchesterism: Putting music at the heart of devolution

By Tom Kiehl | 17 September 2026

New research makes clear the next phase of devolution is an opportunity to treat music as part of the economic, social and physical part of local communities...

Popular articles by William Eichler

-->