Title

PAY

Unite rejects local government pay offer

Unite has rejected the flat rate pay rise offered to all council staff this week.

Unite has rejected the flat rate pay rise offered to all council staff this week.

Employers have put forward a flat rate pay rise of £1,925, saying this would give the lowest paid workers a double digit pay increase.

However, Unite has rejected the offer arguing it represents a cut in real terms.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: 'Most local government workers are being offered yet another pay cut masquerading as a pay increase.

'Council workers have seen their rates of pay massively eroded for over a decade through pay freezes and below inflation increases. Highly skilled and experienced workers are leaving the sector in droves as they are undervalued and struggling to make ends meet.

'Council leaders need to stop ducking the issue and make an offer that both meets members' expectations and which starts to tackle the decade plus decline in council workers' pay.'

The union warned it would consider all options in how to escalate the dispute if an improved offer is not made.

Thousands of Scottish council workers have voted to strike in a dispute over pay this week.

PAY

Funding the future: Local government finances, reform and resilience

By Michael Burton | 11 May 2026

Against the backdrop of mounting fiscal pressures, more exceptional financial support requests and uncertainty over funding reform, local authority finance c...

PAY

Fuel prices to remain high for councils, APSE chief warns

By William Eichler | 05 May 2026

There is ‘no sign’ of the higher fuel prices reported over the last month ‘significantly dropping’, the chief executive of the Association for Public Service...

PAY

Crude reckoning

By David Blackman | 05 May 2026

In the wake of the Iran-US conflict councils could be hit by a surge in inflation, insecurity of fuel supplies, demands for higher pay and more pressure on t...

PAY

EXCLUSIVE: 'Illegal' deal to end Birmingham strike risks £200m equal pay bill

By Martin Ford | 30 April 2026

Birmingham City Council could open itself up to equal pay liabilities worth £200m if a proposed deal unveiled by leader Cllr John Cotton goes ahead.

Popular articles by Laura Sharman