Renfrewshire trade union chiefs have insisted local government workers must receive more recognition after submitting a joint pay claim for the upcoming financial year.
Unison, Unite and GMB unions have demanded a "fair and decent" rise in wages for 2022/23 to make up for "decades of cuts".
The claim submitted to COSLA [Convention for Scottish Local Authorities] calls for a £3,000 flat rate increase to all pay grades and a minimum hourly rate of £12 per hour.
Unions have also asked for all allowances to be automatically uprated in line with October inflation rates, agreement of home/hybrid working guidance and a no-detriment reduction in the working week to 35 hours instead of 37.
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Mark Ferguson, Renfrewshire branch secretary for Unison and chair of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, said he had never seen morale so low amongst members and insisted talks could be "turbulent".
Mark said: "The feeling amongst our members is probably the lowest I've ever seen it in terms of how valued they feel.
"There has been no recognition for local government workers. They have lost 16 per cent of their pay in the last 10 years on average.
"I think this pay round will be turbulent.
"The £3,000 rise is to accommodate inflation which is due to rise quite substantially. We also have the National Insurance rise in April and utility costs and the cost of living are getting quite high.
"We also want to see a hybrid working allowance come in. Many workers have been working from home in difficult circumstances and employers are saying they want to make that a more permanent feature.
"We want to make sure costs from working from home costs are recompensed."
The claim also requests a job evaluation review of all roles which have changed during the pandemic and payment of all professional fees incurred by members in the course of their employment.
Kirsten Muat, GMB organiser for Renfrewshire, said: "Time and again throughout the pandemic, front line workers in Renfrewshire Council have put themselves at risk to serve the community.
"If COSLA and Renfrewshire Council really value their workers, workers need more than warm words and platitudes- they need a pay rise which truly reflects the value of the work they do in a reasonable time frame'
Renfrewshire Council declined to comment when approached by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
A COSLA Spokesperson said: “We acknowledge receipt of the pay claim from our SJC Trade Unions for 2022/23.
"We will work through the process with our trade union colleagues in the usual manner, recognising the significant constraints presented by the Local Government Finance settlement for 22/23 from Scottish Government.”
