HUNDREDS of thousands of Scots workers face having their pay frozen in a plan spearheaded by Glasgow City Council.

HUNDREDS of thousands of Scots workers face having their pay frozen in a plan spearheaded by Glasgow City Council.

Council chiefs hope to persuade other local authorities to back their plan after it was announced yesterday that Culture and Sport Glasgow, an arm's length council organisation, would freeze pay for its 2600 staff in 2010-11.

As the Evening Times revealed yesterday, the organisation's chief executive, Bridget McConnell, blamed "ongoing financial challenges" for the freeze.

She said the plan would protect jobs and essential public services during the economic downturn.

A council insider acknowledged that the move prepared the ground for a more widespread tightening of public spending.

Council chiefs believe there should be a pay freeze "across the public sector" and are now seeking backing from other local authorities.

Such a move would have to be carried out through council umbrella body Cosla, which negotiates with the unions.

Talks between city council and Cosla officials have already taken place, though they have not yet moved to a political level.

The insider said: "We want to bring Cosla around to our way of thinking.

"Local government is in for some rocky times and any way we can save money is important.

"With inflation falling quickly towards zero, a pay freeze makes sense."

While workers at Culture and Sport Glasgow will lose next year's wage increase, the 2.5% rise agreed for this year is safe. But in a letter to employees, Ms McConnell did not rule out the possibility of redundancies or pay cuts.

She said: "We will work with the unions and staff to protect jobs. We believe that this action will reduce the likelihood of redundancies and/or a pay cut."

Ms McConnell said the decision to tell staff 12 months in advance of the pay freeze was to give everyone time to plan for any impact.

Mike Kirby, Scottish convener of Unison, said: "Unison will not accept this breach of contract and will take whatever steps needed to defend staff conditions and pay."

On the speculation of a wider public sector pay freeze, he added: "Local council pay is set by negotiations between Cosla and the main unions. That is where any debate should happen, not by unilateral declarations and leaks from individual employers."