living wage – Unite CEC Branch

Recent pay increase

Some members (grades 1-3 and start of grade 4) may have noticed a small increase in their wages, paid on 28th April 2021. This increase is an outcome of the consolidation of the Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW) into the City of Edinburgh Council’s (CEC) pay and grading structure.

CEC have claimed that some 4400 workers will have received an improvement to their take home pay as a consequence of the consolidation and that CEC’s Gender Pay Gap has been improved. Whilst we do not dispute these claims we feel that an opportunity to significantly improve take home pay for those whose wages are lower than average in Edinburgh and thereby tackle in-work poverty and the Gender Pay Gap better has been missed. The average pay increase for the 4400 workers is about 21 pence per hour.

Living wage consolidation update

Negotiations on the consolidation of the Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW) into our pay and grading system are reaching the end point of a 30 day time-frame (as set by the employer).

Unite has submitted a proposal that would see several thousand of Edinburgh Council’s lowest paid workers (a group approximately two thirds female) receive a substantial pay increase, with no reduction to the rest of the workforce. The idea is to bring the lowest paid up and therefore make the pay and grading system more equitable.

Other proposals are on the table (from other unions and HR) but we feel ours tackles in-work poverty and the gender pay gap far better than the others and is the only proposal that enables the council to keep on track with its objective of ending poverty in Edinburgh by 2030, by starting with its own workforce.

The consolidation of the SLGLW is a requirement of the current pay deal (2018 to 2021) and is due in our pay packets at the end of April 2021.