By David Scott in Edinburgh
27 November 2009
Elected local officials in Scotland could face a two-year pay freeze as councils struggle to cope with the ‘uncharted territory’ of budget pressures.
The Scottish Local Authorities’ Remuneration Committee, an independent public body established to advise the Scottish Government on councillors’ pay, has recommended that salaries should remain at April 2009 levels until 2012.
If councillors’ pay remains unchanged, it is expected that leaders will press for a similar freeze for council workers. But town hall staff opened the bidding by tabling a 3% pay claim for 2010 on November 25.
Committee chair Ian Livingstone said the recession meant ‘we were venturing into uncharted territory’ in considering future salary issues.
‘In making our recommendation we considered salary increases currently being offered in both the public and private sectors.’
The president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Pat Watters, said: ‘In the light of the current financial constraints we all find ourselves in, I can understand the recommendation in relation to a pay freeze for the next two years.
‘That said, councillors are not well paid and the report recognises there is still work to be done in this area – we are certainly not bankers.’
The three unions representing Scotland’s 150,000 council workers – Unison, Unite and the GMB – also want the lowest paid to receive an extra rise. They have asked for a 3% or £600 rise – whichever is the greater – for the year beginning next April.
Unison regional organiser and lead negotiator Douglas Black said: ‘This claim is simply an attempt by our members to maintain their standard of living in the teeth of what is predicted to be increasing inflationary pressures.’
He added: ‘Our members have already delivered £200m worth of efficiency savings with a loss of around 7,000 jobs. It is only fair that councils should share these efficiency savings with staff as well as with council tax payers.’
27 November 2009
Elected local officials in Scotland could face a two-year pay freeze as councils struggle to cope with the ‘uncharted territory’ of budget pressures.
The Scottish Local Authorities’ Remuneration Committee, an independent public body established to advise the Scottish Government on councillors’ pay, has recommended that salaries should remain at April 2009 levels until 2012.
If councillors’ pay remains unchanged, it is expected that leaders will press for a similar freeze for council workers. But town hall staff opened the bidding by tabling a 3% pay claim for 2010 on November 25.
Committee chair Ian Livingstone said the recession meant ‘we were venturing into uncharted territory’ in considering future salary issues.
‘In making our recommendation we considered salary increases currently being offered in both the public and private sectors.’
The president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Pat Watters, said: ‘In the light of the current financial constraints we all find ourselves in, I can understand the recommendation in relation to a pay freeze for the next two years.
‘That said, councillors are not well paid and the report recognises there is still work to be done in this area – we are certainly not bankers.’
The three unions representing Scotland’s 150,000 council workers – Unison, Unite and the GMB – also want the lowest paid to receive an extra rise. They have asked for a 3% or £600 rise – whichever is the greater – for the year beginning next April.
Unison regional organiser and lead negotiator Douglas Black said: ‘This claim is simply an attempt by our members to maintain their standard of living in the teeth of what is predicted to be increasing inflationary pressures.’
He added: ‘Our members have already delivered £200m worth of efficiency savings with a loss of around 7,000 jobs. It is only fair that councils should share these efficiency savings with staff as well as with council tax payers.’
