Glasgow has been threatened with bin strikes this summer after a pay deal was rejected.

Union workers are being ‘grossly undervalued’ compared with UK council counterparts, according to Unite.

A committee for local government workers has now rejected the latest COSLA pay offer following a meeting in Glasgow today.

Unite said no “extra cash” has been added to the new pay offer by COSLA, which amounts to a 3.2% increase for a one-year period between April this year and next March.

READ MORE: Glasgow bin workers will go on strike in a few weeks

COSLA has taken two months to shift from its previous offer, which was also rejected outright by Unite in May. Meanwhile an offer of £1,290 has been made to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the National Joint Council (NJC).

This equates to a rise of 67p per hour or just over 5% for a council worker earning around £25,000 - based on a 37-hour week.

In contrast, the COSLA offer of more than 3% equates to £800 or a 41p per hour increase.

The pay offer difference means that a Scottish council worker would need to earn above £40,000 to match the offer being made to council workers across the UK.

This means the lowest paid council workers are being disproportionately hit by COSLA’s offer. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “COSLA has taken months to put a new offer to our local government membership, and it’s one that does absolutely nothing to address more than a decade of deep cuts to pay and services.

“Unless COSLA and the Scottish government move quickly to make an acceptable offer then mountains of rubbish will pile up across the nation’s streets. The politicians have a choice, and one more chance, to resolve this pay dispute before strike action.” Unite has the largest union membership on the verge of participating in a first wave of strike action involving waste workers, street cleaners, and recycling centre operators. The union has strike action mandates involving thousands of its members across 16 councils, and it is in the process of re-balloting workers in 5 other councils (see notes to editor).

Graham McNab, Unite industrial officer, added: “COSLA’s latest pay offer doesn’t add any extra cash. It continues to grossly undervalue Scotland’s council workers compared with the offer made to their counterparts across the UK.

“A stinking Scottish summer looms unless COSLA and the Scottish government quickly sort this out by injecting more cash into a new offer. Any offer will need to value the lowest paid council workers, at least, on similar terms as the offer made to other UK council workers.

“The Scottish government can no longer sit idly by, we are on the brink of nationwide strike action which could last for months.” COSLA was contacted for comment by the Glasgow Times.

COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann said: "We are extremely disappointed that unions have rejected the revised offer.

"I'll reiterate that the revised offer we put forward last week was a strong, fair and credible pay offer, higher than the rate of inflation and worth more than the first year of the Scottish Government's Public Sector Pay Policy.

"We have been very clear in all discussions with trade unions that the offer is at the very limit of affordability for councils given the challenging financial circumstances we are facing.

"While we are disappointed with this outcome, we remain committed to continuing to engage as positively as we can with our Trade Unions.

"I can confirm a special meeting of Scotland’s council leaders will take place this week where leaders will be able to discuss the situation and decide on the next steps.”