SNP<\/a>, councils should be doing everything they can to deliver value for the taxpayer and protecting vital services.<\/p>\n\u2018Rubber stamping these pay deals completely flies in the face of that.\u2019<\/p>\n
The pay rises for the heads of Scotland\u2019s 32 local authority, first reported by the Daily Record, follow an expert review comparing their wages to other public officials UK-wide.<\/p>\n
![\"Cosla,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/103694507-15270289-image-a-32_1762541430123.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Cosla, the national association for Scotland’s councils, has endorsed chief executives’ pay hikes<\/p>\n
![\"Oliver](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/103694509-15270289-image-a-31_1762541427716.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Oliver Reid is the chief executive of Orkney Council<\/p>\n
With the last review in 2001, Cosla said an update was needed as the workload had \u2018changed significantly in terms of increased complexity, scale, and level of risk\u2019.<\/p>\n
But the group delayed endorsing the report\u2019s recommendations earlier this year to avoid complicating salary negotiations with local government staff.<\/p>\n
Workers went on to agree a 4 per cent rise this year and 3.5 per cent in 2026\/27.<\/p>\n
Cosla has now endorsed the chief executive raises, which will be phased in over 12 months.<\/p>\n
A leaked paper said the plan is for revised salaries of between \u00a3165,755 and \u00a3230,620 based on council size.<\/p>\n
The expert review puts the total cost at \u00a3611,113 for an average salary rise of \u00a319,097.<\/p>\n
Individual bosses would see rises of between \u00a34,380 and \u00a332,334, or 2 to 23.4 per cent more, with an average rise of 12.5 per cent .<\/p>\n
The already well-paid chief executives of the biggest councils are set to get the least, with the lowest award going to Glasgow City Council boss Susanne Millar.<\/p>\n
But the heads of the small and island authorities – Oliver Reid at Orkney, Maggie Sandison at Shetland, Malcolm Burr at Eilean Siar and Nikki Bridle at Clackmannanshire – appear in line for rises of around \u00a330,000 each.<\/p>\n
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: \u2018Cosla\u2019s decision to award top bosses above inflation pay rises is deeply flawed and will quite rightly create a huge backlash from workers and the public they serve.<\/p>\n
\u2018Staff and service users across the country are facing cuts to services, continued low pay and increasing cost of living pressures.<\/p>\n
\u2018It is simply rubbing salt into the wounds of ordinary workers who yet again can see that when it comes to pay it\u2019s one rule for the bosses and another rule for everyone else.\u2019<\/p>\n
GMB senior organiser Keir Greenaway said: \u2018Pay rises of this size for those at the very top are a slap in the face to our members after being repeatedly told budgets are stretched to breaking point.\u2019<\/p>\n
And Graham McNab, lead local government officer at Unite, told the Record: \u2018It\u2019s disgraceful that Cosla willingly offer eye-watering pay rises to council chief executives who are already on exorbitant salaries.<\/p>\n
\u2018How can they even begin to justify paying chief executives three times higher than what they gave nursery nurses, cleaners, school assistants and refuse workers?<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s utterly hypocritical and our members won\u2019t forget this when pay negotiations start again.\u2019<\/p>\n
A Cosla spokeswoman said: \u2018On 31st October, Cosla leaders considered an independent report on chief executive remuneration.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was agreed that an updated pay framework will be implemented based on the independent recommendations.<\/p>\n
\u2018The new pay framework will help local government attract and retain the leadership we require to deliver for Scotland\u2019s people and our communities, and meet the challenges we face now and into the future.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Council chief executives are in line for \u2018eye-watering\u2019 average pay rises of more than \u00a319,000 after a controversial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[748,92,4884,12,712,10004,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-555900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-scotland","13":"tag-snp","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115510582152762371","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}