Unite CEC Branch – City of Edinburgh Council trade union

Pay offer to be imposed—strike suspended (updated 29 November)

Pay deal to be in place from 21 December pay

COSLA Leaders met on Friday and agreed to impose the latest pay offer.

The Council have confirmed that this will be implemented and staff will receive their backpay in the 21 December pay. Read Andrew Kerr’s update, which includes the new salaries and hourly rates.

The latest offer is the same as the previous, but the uplift for some workers (GR5 to the bottom of GR11) that they were due to receive from January 2024, will now be for the full year from April 2023.

Unison suspended all strike action while they consulted their members on this offer. Unison nationally are recommending their members accept the offer, but branches—such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee—are recommending reject.

UPDATE: Unison have accepted the offer with 70% of members voting in favour.

Former employees, claim your pay

Those that have left the Council that worked there between 1 April and 3 December 2023 must complete the leavers pay claim form to receive their back pay.

The deadline for doing this is 9 January so get your claim in as soon as possible to ensure you receive your pay.

Get ready for next year

Inclusion review—make the review work for you

School support staff UNITE to improve pay, safety and career progression

What does PSA stand for? In this case, Pay, Safety and Advancement—the themes of Unite’s PSA campaign to improve conditions for all school support workers. The on-going Inclusion Review provides the opportunity to propose new

job descriptions—which can result in regrading
reporting lines
structures
working patterns.

The formal consultation looks set to launch in January.

We are working with members in scope of the review to ensure the review provides positive outcomes for workers—solutions to the issues you are experiencing, better pay, ensuring your safety at work and the opportunity to advance in your career supporting pupils in school.

Read on to find out about the opportunities to have your say and influence the review.

If you have any questions or comments about the review please submit them in the comment box at the bottom of the page.

Events in November

We are hosting an in-person event on 17 November to work with Unite members, and yet to be unionised workers that are in scope for the review.

Ballot results are in—Unite and GMB accept, Unison reject

Unite accepts COSLA pay deal with 72% in favour

Members of all unions of the Scottish Joint Council—Unite, Unison and GMB—have now had their say on the latest COSLA pay offer:

Unite have accepted the deal, with 72% of members in favour.
Unison have rejected the deal, with 89% rejecting.
GMB have accepted, with 62%.

Unison have promised further industrial action in schools before the end of the year, however details are yet to be publicised.

We now await COSLA’s response.

Pay update—members balloted on new offer

Unison strikes to go ahead.
Unite and GMB suspend their strike action.

COSLA submitted a new offer, noted as their ‘best and final’, on 21 September. Unite, Unison and GMB are balloting their members on the offer.

Unison are going ahead with their planned industrial action in schools next week and are recommending their members reject the offer.

Unite and GMB have suspended all industrial action while they ballot their members to see if they accept or reject the offer.

The offer

From 1 April 2023:

Pay update—offer rejected and first wave of school strikes to go ahead

All schools in Edinburgh to close on 26, 27 and 28 September due to strike action

Unison members working in schools in Edinburgh will be on strike on 26, 27 and 28 September. This is the first wave of strikes in the fight for a fair pay deal for local government workers across Scotland, with workers in schools across Scotland striking on these dates.

Here, we address the frequently asked questions. Let us know if you have any others by commenting below and we’ll answer them here. We’ve split the details in to what is happening in Edinburgh and the national context.

In Edinburgh

What happens on the strike days?

Get a pension estimate with a Certificate of Protection

If your pay was impacted by Modernising Pay, then you may have a Certificate of Protection (CoP) for your pension. This ensures that your highest salary is used in calculating your pension.

These Certificates of Protection last 10 years, therefore if you are soon to take your pension you should get an estimate of how much you would get with and without the certificate as soon as possible, so you can make an informed decision on your retirement.

Get your estimates

To get an estimate of your pension with the CoP raise a request through askHR. You can do this online if you have access or via 0131 469 5555 during business hours.

You must raise the request through the Council, not Lothian Pension Fund, as the Council hold your CoP, not the pension fund.

To get a standard estimate of your pension, log in to LPF My Pension Online and go to Benefit Projectors/Calculators to use the online tool to get a projection.

Advice on your pension

Call 0800 085 8590 or email appointments@lighthousefa.co.uk and to book an appointment with the free financial advisor, provided through Unite Member Services.

Unite in Social Care