Unison Scotland has warned council leaders not to threaten a five-year pay cut as the sides prepare to meet today.
According to the union, leaked documents suggest that a pay freeze of up to five years will be on the table when the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) meets to discuss their response to the current recession.
But Unison Scotland secretary Matt Smith warned that any freeze would demotivate the workforce, impact negatively on services, and damage communities.
“Knee-jerk reactions to financial difficulties is no way to run local government,” he said. “It is completely unfair that low-paid cooks, cleaners, care workers and clerical staff should be told that they are to pay the price of financial incompetence of well-heeled bankers and financiers.”
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The previous pay agreement of a two-year deal ended with the award of 2.5% in April this year.
Negotiations of future pay settlements are scheduled to start this autumn.
