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Councils have made an improved pay offer to their staff, offering them a three-year deal worth a total of 9.5%.

It would mean a rise of 3.5% this year for people earning less than £80,000 with 3% rises next year and in 2020 for all staff.

Council umbrella body Cosla said it was a "strong offer" which recognised the value of the workforce.

Unison, the largest council union, said it would urge its members to accept the proposed deal.

They will be balloted in the new year.

The move comes a month after Unison rejected an earlier pay offer, raising the prospect of industrial action.

The other two main unions in local government - the GMB and Unite - are expected to discuss their response to the pay offer in early 2019.

The 3.5% rise this year for all staff earning less than £80,000 will be backdated to April.

Staff on more than £80,000 will get a £1,600 rise.

In April 2019, all staff will get a further 3% rise followed by another 3% rise in April 2020.

Unison's Johanna Baxter paid tribute to the lobbying efforts of Unison members.

She added: "Whilst the offer does not make up for the many years of austerity the provision of cost of living increases which meet current and projected levels of RPI is welcome as are the commitments to fully consolidate the living wage and maintain parity across the local government workforce."

Mark Ferguson, chairman of the union's local government committee, said: "This offer does not meet all of our expectations but it is move in the right direction after a decade of below inflation increases and job cuts.

"Many of our low paid members have patiently waited on their employer to consolidate the living wage - the employers' past failure to deliver on that has resulted in eradication of pay differentials on the pay model for those doing the most demanding jobs."

The pay offer will be viewed with interest by the teachers' unions which are currently campaigning for a 10% rise this year.

Cosla spokeswoman Gail Macgregor said she was delighted Unison had agreed to recommend the revised offer to their membership.

"This is an strong offer which recognises the value of our workforce," she said.

"This is particularly so given the backdrop of an extremely difficult funding settlement for local government and I am delighted that it has been recommended to the membership for acceptance.

"We hope that the other SJC unions will also recognise the value of this offer and accept so we can get this money into the pay packets of our hard working and valued workforce."

A spokesman for GMB Scotland said it would confirm its position "early next month" before a full consultative ballot of its 30,000 local government members.

He added: "As it stands this offer would surpass the value of the NHS deal, but there are still concerns about how this latest proposal is weighted across the local government pay grades.

"After a decade of cuts and against the backdrop of Brexit uncertainty, it is vital we get this deal right to ensure work genuinely pays for staff on the front line of local government."