TENS of thousands of council workers across Scotland are ready to strike to win a pay rise, the country’s largest local government union warned today. 

A Unison Scotland consultation of its 80,000 members across the country’s 32 councils found more than 92 per cent were prepared to take strike action to demand the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities’ (Cosla) raise their 3 per cent pay offer.

The union’s Scottish local government lead, David O’Connor, warned that inflation, soaring energy prices and council tax rises of up to 15.6 per cent in Scotland this year mean the current pay offer is “effectively a wage cut.”