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		Local Government Pay and Conditions Pay Index . Strike Briefings - Questions & Answers Local Government Pay Dispute Briefing For MSPs You will be aware that UNISON members employed in Scottish local authorities took part in a one day strike on Tuesday, 29 August 2000 in support of the trade unions' pay claim. This has been the first time since 1989 that local government workers have taken strike action on this scale. Pay Claim Negotiations Funding Pay Claim The local authority trade unions (GMB, TGWU and UNISON) submitted a pay claim to the Employers in December 1999. The claim has three elements - an increase of 5% on all pay points or a flat rate increase of £500, whichever is the greater a minimum rate of £5.00 per hour The Trade Union Side in submitting the claim stated that quality services need quality pay, quality employment and quality training. Without them, Councils will not be able to recruit and retain the dedicated and skilled staff that they currently employ and will need in the future. The trade unions' call is for "a fair deal”. Negotiations Negotiations have taken place between the trade unions and the Employers since lodging the claim. The trade unions rejected a final offer from the Employers' Side of 2.5% on all pay points with effect from 1 April 2000 at a meeting held on 21 June 2000. The Employers stated that 2.5% is as much as the Councils can afford and that authorities simply cannot continue to self-finance pay from existing budgets nor can they increase the offer without endangering front-line services. Since the trade unions rejected the Employers' final offer, the Income Data Services (IDS) Report shows that 3.5 million public sector workers across the UK have settled for increases between 3% and 4%. For five out of the last six years the pay settlements for Scottish local authority workers have been less than the rate of inflation. In addition, local government staff in Scotland are paid - on average -17% less than their equivalents in England and Wales, according to the New Earnings Survey. Funding The trade unions are aware that the Scottish Executive has made additional resources to Scottish local government and that the government supported expenditure is up 3.6%, aggregated external finance is up 2.9% and grant aided expenditure is up 3.4%. However, the Scottish Executive have continued with the previous government's policy of financing public sector increases from efficiency savings - this being the seventh successive year. UNISON will be considering further industrial action in pursuit of a fair pay settlement. We ask you for your support to ensure the proper funding for local councils in order that they continue to provide quality services by an in-house workforce who are motivated, well trained and qualified, fairly rewarded staff with security of employment. MATT SMITH Scottish Secretary