Council staff set for vote on strike action over pay

Workers to be balloted as walkout looms amid pay increase row

- STEPHEN BARK

Council staff in Ayrshire are set to be balloted on strike action after a union rejected a “pitiful” pay offer.

Unison announced last Tuesday that they will ballot members across all 32 of Scotland's local authorities next month in a bid to find a better pay deal.

Cosla, the body who negotiate pay deals on behalf of local authorities in Scotland, made an offer of a three per cent pay increase for council workers which was condemned by the union.

Unison is Scotland's largest union and represents over 80,000 local authority employees.

The union had made a pay claim of 6.5 per cent for 2025 but they have so far been unsuccessful in even achieving half that.

Council staff will now be balloted from Thursday, May 1 to Thursday, June 12 with the result expected shortly after.

Should members vote in favour of industrial action, strikes among education, social care, transport, environmental health, housing, planning, economic development and leisure services could be forthcoming.