Cosla makes council staff new pay offer ahead of strikes

Local authorities have made a new pay offer to staff in an attempt to avoid strikes planned for later this month which could close schools.

Council body Cosla said the two-part offer will give workers at least a £1,929 increase in annual salary by 1 January 2024.

Strikes by staff including school janitors and pupil support staff are due to take place in a fortnight.

Unison said it would hold an emergency meeting to consider its position.

Cosla's resources spokesperson councillor Katie Hagmann said council leaders had made a "strong offer even stronger".

She said: "Council leaders have listened to the workforce and then acted on what they heard by adding additional council funds to get us to the position today where a revised offer can be made.

"This is an extremely strong offer which not only compares well to other sectors, but recognises the cost-of-living pressures on our workforce and which would mean the lowest paid would see a 21% increase in their pay over a two-year period."

Unison Scotland's head of local government, Johanna Baxter said the union would meet on Thursday to go through the details of the offer, adding "we do not want to see mass school closures".

She said: "We need to be convinced that this is a substantially improved offer.

"Unison members in schools have voted in unprecedented numbers to take action and we have a mandate to call over 21,000 school staff out on strike over this - our members have clearly had enough."

The council body said the offer will mean the lowest paid local government workers will have received a 21% pay increase in two years.

Unison said 21,000 of its members in 24 of the 32 council areas would walk out after rejecting an average pay increase of 5.5%.

This offer included a 99p-an-hour rise in the living wage for the lowest paid.

Unison spokesman Mark Ferguson previously said the last pay offer had fallen short of the union's pay claim, adding it was less than the pay offer made to the lowest paid council workers in England.

Unite members will also strike in 11 council areas.

The GMB, which had cancelled strikes last week, also confirmed it would join "the concerted industrial action".

It means three out of four primary and secondary schools in Scotland could close over the three days.

Cosla said the new offer, put to unions on Wednesday, is now a better deal than offered south of the border.

The strikes will involve catering, cleaning, pupil support, administration and janitorial staff in schools and early years centres.

The BBC has approached the unions for comment.