OFFICIALS from Scotland’s largest trade union for public sector workers have demanded fresh pay talks with council chiefs after an improved offer was made to teachers.

Unite has written to Cosla – the umbrella organisation for all councils in Scotland – to ask for local authority bosses to get back round the table and restart negotiations.

Strike action by teachers at local schools was called off last week after the Scottish Government made an improved pay offer, equating to a 13 per cent rise for staff by 2020.

Unite bosses are calling for all local authority workers, such as bin crews, to receive a similar pay day and are asking for a trigger clause to be put in place to safeguard against the possibility of rising inflation after Brexit.

The union says the existing offer to council staff failed to restore ‘real term’ pay to the same level as a decade ago.

Wendy Dunsmore, Unite’s regional industrial officer, said: “Unite members rejected the most recent pay offer but it was imposed on our members. However, the order did give a commitment by Cosla to reopen pay negotiations in specific circumstances, including another local government bargaining group’s pay offer being greater.

“We are invoking this commitment and inviting our sister unions to join us to demand that parity is maintained following the teacher pay offer. Unite members were disappointed that the local authorities offer did not address the real issues for workers, such as Brexit and those workers who are paid below the Scottish Living Wage, and this new development now allows Cosla to make amends.”

A spokesperson for Cosla said: “No new pay offer has been made to the teachers’ trade unions and it will be the end of the month before the Scottish Government’s proposals are considered by Cosla as the employers of the teaching workforce.

“In the meantime, Cosla will conduct normal due diligence in respect of costs and it remains premature to call for discussions around the reopening of negotiations.”

The new pay offer agreed for teachers would see them receive a three per cent rise effective from last April, a seven per cent increase this April and a further three per cent hike in April 2020.

This means a teacher who has not been promoted could earn more than £41,000 by next year – about £5,000 higher than they earn just now.

The EIS, which is the country’s largest teachers’ union, hailed the new pay offer as “a significant success for Scotland’s teachers.”