Council staff to vote on potential strike action

COUNCIL staff in Shetland will receive formal ballot papers today (Thursday) about whether to strike over pay.

All staff represented by union Unison will have the choice to walk out in a row over wages, with the vote said to be the biggest of its kind for years.

More than 80,000 workers across all 32 councils will have the opportunity to vote from 1 May until 12 June.

The move follows a recent consultation in which 92 per cent backed strike action.

It comes after local government employer COSLA offered all council workers in Scotland a three per cent pay increase for the 2025/26 financial year.

Unison however is seeking a 6.5 per cent pay rise for local government workers, and the union’s Shetland branch secretary Susanne Gens said both COSLA and the Scottish Government had to “recognise their worth”.

“Staff have indicated overwhelmingly that they’ve reached their limit. They can’t afford to shoulder the burden of real-terms pay cuts,” she said.

“Local government workers are the glue that holds communities together and provide essential services on which everyone relies.”

Local government co-lead at Unison, David O’Connor, added: “Dedicated council staff have seen the value of their pay fall for more than a decade, as wages failed to keep pace with the cost of living.

“These workers deliver high-quality, vital services to communities, despite increasing pressures, dwindling resources and significant staffing shortages.

“COSLA’s offer only adds to the real financial hardship faced by employees, especially with rent, council tax and energy bills continuing to soar.

“Strike action is always a last resort, but local government workers have been underpaid and undervalued for far too long.”