THOUSANDS of Scottish council workers will be balloted for strike action from next week.

Last week the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) offered all council workers a 2.2 per cent rise from April 1 to September 30 this year  and 2 per cent from October 2024 to September 30 2025, but with inflation still running at 3 per cent, unions dismissed the offer as a real-terms pay cut.

After rejecting the offer and branding the proposal to change the pay anniversary from April to September as an attempt to “kick the can down the road,” union Unite has now served notice on 29 of Scotland’s 32 councils of its intention to ballot its members in their cleansing and waste services from June 5 until July 1.