A FORMER Dunfermline councillor has spoken out about "unfair" councillor wages claiming he was "exceptionally busy" during his term while others were not so.

Garry Haldane has claimed the workload among him and his fellow councillors were "uneven" when he was on the council.

In a letter to the Press, the former Dunfermline Central councillor spoke on recent recommendations of the Scottish Local Authorities Renumeration Committee (SLARC) which have proposed increasing the basic annual salary for local councillors from £21,345 to £25,300.

He said that while the recommendations are relatively modest given the responsibilities, larger councils like Glasgow and Edinburgh are being recommended to receive salaries comparable to MSP's at around £72,000 per year.

READ MORE: Dunfermline joiner's shock at £25,000 win: ‘I thought I had only won £25’

"I generally support the proposals but I have concerns about the fairness of the pay disparity," he said. "From my experience, the workload among councillors in my ward was very uneven.

"The amount of community work undertaken depended heavily on the individual councillor. I was exceptionally busy, while others, who were paid the same, were not. This was evident across Fife, where the SNP councillors were often absent from duty, until a photo opportunity arose.

"This situation seems unchanged. The saying "if you want something done, ask a busy person" still holds true. I raised this issue of unfairness, with the council, multiple times but the response was always the same " that's just how it is."

Mr Haldane also called into question the potential of a "significant wage disparity" between councillors in Glasgow or Edinburgh and those in other council areas like Fife, Clackmannanshire or Argyle and Bute.

"The principles of decision making are the same regardless of the council area," he added. "This disparity will also, in my opinion, result in fewer opportunities for people of all genders, individuals with disabilities, those who are visually impaired and racial minorities, the list is not exhaustive, in those areas where the salary is significantly lower.

"I wonder if an Impact Assessment has been conducted regarding this proposal?"

The report from the SLARC recommended that the salaries of councillors be set at 80 per cent of the median salary for all employees in the public sector.

Following the report's publication, the Scottish Government said it was content to accept the pay and banding changes recommended by SLARC and will introduce regulations early in 2025 to put these into effect from April next year.