Scottish council unions call for ‘no’ vote

Union leaders have urged 150,000 Scottish council workers to vote no in the pay ballot that began last week.

The latest pay offer of 3 percent for 2008 and 2.5 percent for 2009 comes after two huge one-day strikes by council workers in the Unison, GMB and Unite unions, in August and September.

All three unions have recommended that members reject the offer.

Dougie Black, Unison regional officer and lead negotiator, said, “The recent increases in inflation – especially in basic necessities like food and fuel – impact particularly hard on low paid members, and a 3 percent increase does not deliver the kind of help they need.”

At workplace meetings many were angry at being consulted on such a poor offer.

Workers wanted to see union leaders campaign for rejection of the offer, followed by a hard-hitting strike strategy to win.

The Unison union said to its members, “Don’t just reject the new offer, clearly commit to escalate the strike action.” The union called on its branches to lobby council meetings as part of the campaign.