Union members stage demo

Mar 10 2010 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

COUNCIL workers are planning to protest outside Renfrewshire Council’s head office today over a pay dispute.

Members of UNISON are staging the demo after their three per cent pay claim was rejected by council bosses at COSLA.

They are angry that teaching staff are to receive 2.4 per cent and senior managers 2.5 per cent in the coming year as part of multi-year deals.

Branch secretary Mark Ferguson, said: “It appears that the employers put little value on the majority of the workforce who deliver their front line services on a daily basis.

“These staff include the lowest paid in Scottish local government and to them this is a slap in the face.

“I am concerned that the employers chose not to address the detail of our claim but simply dismissed it in its entirety.”

Members are also protesting against the council’s decision to remove group life cover from employees as part of their January budget.

UNISON represents 4,500 members working for Renfrewshire Council.

The pay claim was submitted to COSLA, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

They say they are not in a position to meet UNISON’s pay claim for 2010/11 but have asked them to take part in further talks.

Councillor Michael Cook, COSLA’s strategic human resource spokesperson, said: “We have not taken this decision lightly. We have consulted with councils across Scotland and the message from them is clear and consistent – the trade unions’ claim is simply not affordable or sustainable.

“We hugely value our hard-working employees and want to support them through the challenges that lie ahead. However, councils have also been badly affected and are faced with difficult choices. Our figures tell us that meeting the trade unions’ claim would cost in the region of £100million.

“I am sure that people working in local government will understand that we simply cannot afford to the meet these costs without damaging vital services and resulting in job losses.

“It is for these reasons that we have invited the unions into an open dialogue about finding a solution which reflects the harsh reality of the financial pressures facing councils.”