UNION representatives are to mount a protest over cuts to jobs and services in Glasgow - as fears mount over huge council tax rises to fill Scotland's funding black hole.

The union Unite say the demonstration raises concerns over cuts of around £500m over the past decade that have meant job losses and service cuts while there are fears more are on the cards due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has asked to remove the cap for the rate of council tax which councils can set - which currently sits at three percent.

It said £500m of additional funding would be needed to help fund Scottish councils as authorities warn they face “devastating” financial black holes.

In February, all four parties in the Glasgow city chambers said they were unnhappy at having to make cuts to the tune of £50m in that year’s budget.

All said that the city should get a better deal from the Scottish Government Budget.

Susan Aitken, council leader said the Scottish funding process was “perverse” and that relatively better of council areas like Aberdeen and Edinburgh, benefitted more than Glasgow.

Unite say today's protest – which will be socially distanced – is aimed at "highlighting the financial crisis facing key services provided by local government."

READ MORE: Scottish councils still haven't received £155m they are owed amid further £100m 'black hole' warning

Ahead of the protest, Unite’s Wendy Dunsmore said: "The people of Glasgow, the services which they rely on and the workers who provide them are not to blame for this crisis but it is they who have borne the brunt of these industrial scale cutbacks.

“Local authorities also face a £739m funding shortfall due to COVID-19 with an expectation of it being closer to £1bn by the end of the year.

"What is required now is a fair funding model for local government, and in particular for those areas facing greater economic, transport and health challenges such as Glasgow.

"The position whereby tens of millions of cuts to vital services are made every year is unsustainable, unfair and unacceptable, and it just piles pressures on to a workforce already stretched bare thin.”

The protest in front of Glasgow City Chambers starts at 1pm.

A Blueprint for Local Government document earlier this month by COSLA warned that without "proper resourcing" cuts to council services are inevitable, risking the country's recovery from the virus.

A previous COSLA paper which emerged in July said: “Given the initial forecasts from local authorities it would require a council tax increase in 2021/22 in excess of 50 percent.”

Morag Johnston, Glasgow City Council's director of financial services said: “The council’s response to Covid-19 has incurred additional costs. Also, there have been a number of areas suffering from reduced income resulting from lockdown restrictions.”

“The council continues to engage with COSLA in lobbying the Scottish and UK Governments for additional funding to meet the full financial implications of Covid19. In the interim, net costs are being underpinned by reserves.”