The body responsible for council employment has been urged to avoid a long negotiating process as union members seek a £1.50 pay rise for the new year.
GMB Scotland has outlined its proposals in documents sent to Cosla ahead of the leaders' meeting on Friday, January 26.
However, it's understood that the proposed £1.50 uplift will not be on the agenda, leading to fears that members could be left waiting for any increase in pay.
GMB Scotland is therefore calling for interest to be added to any backdated pay in an effort to press council leaders to act more swiftly, as it said some of its members had not yet received a pay increase negotiated last year.
The union says its claim for an extra £1.50 an hour would ensure more than half the workforce receives a rise above 10% with four in five getting at least 7.5%.
Read More: Councils pondering hiking council tax despite SNP's freeze to counter 'another cut'
It said the lowest paid workers deserve the biggest rises but said the claim would mean almost every council worker getting a rise of more than 5%, the projected rate of inflation in 2024.
Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said pay negotiations took far too long in 2023: “It is clearly unacceptable that our members in some councils have still to receive a rise that was agreed last year but it sums up everything that is wrong with the pace of these negotiations.
“Councils must no longer sit on money due to workers struggling to make ends meet and, if they do, they should pay interest. Perhaps that will focus their attention.
“After last year’s needlessly long and protracted process, we have put in a claim for the pay rise our members deserve at the earliest opportunity. We do not want to waste a day.
"There is no excuse for all the wasted weeks and months in our negotiations with Cosla.
“It is frustrating for those involved in the talks but far more frustrating for the workers who deserve pay rises to be agreed fairly and with as much urgency as possible.
“We want our members’ money in their bank account as soon as possible and will discuss our members’ pay claim any time, anywhere. Cosla needs to show that same urgency.”
First Minister Humza Yousaf announced in October that council tax would be frozen for 2024, something which came as a surprise to both Cosla and the Scottish Greens.
The move was criticised by unions, including GMB Scotland, which said it could hurt frontline services.
The Scottish Government said it had allocated £144 million in its budget for next year to “fully fund” the council tax freeze.
A COSLA Spokesperson said: “We have received this claim and will take the necessary time to review it thoroughly.
"All pay claims for 24/25 will need to be considered against the final settlement for local government in this year’s Budget, which will not be known until late February.”
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