A PAY offer to council workers has been overwhelmingly rejected by members of one trade union.
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.
This was widely dismissed by members, with 94% of them rejecting the offer in a ballot.
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”.
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.
Results are also expected from both the Unite and Unison trade unions next week.
