Local authority chief executives will no longer receive a planned 2.5 per cent pay increase in April.
COSLA’s human resources spokesperson Michael Cook and Tom Aitchison, chair of the Association of Local Authority chief executives (ALACE) in Scotland and chief executive of Edinburgh Council have announced that a pay freeze will be going ahead, effectively scrapping the final year of a deal agreed in 2008.
A joint statement cites a “growing consensus” that “tough measures” are called for in order to save money.
Earlier this year, council leaders also agreed to freeze their pay in 2010/11.
Commenting on the decision, Cook said: “The testing times both now and which lie ahead are such that leadership counts and chief executives have shown genuine leadership which we trust will set an example to others.
“It is significant that the political and executive leadership of councils have recognised the unprecedented challenges which lie ahead.”
