COSLA’s purpose is to be the national voice for local government in Scotland and its high priority work areas reflect its commitment to promote the position of local government as the legitimate tier of governance closest to the people of Scotland and, very importantly, to take the lead in shaping the future of local government and ensuring that local Councils remain at the heart of public service delivery. COSLA aims to enable elected members of different political groups to have the opportunity to contribute to COSLA’s work and to participate fully to the development of policies for local government, which represent, as far as possible, consensus between the political groups. The system is designed to ensure that councillors can be involved in the policy development process. In parallel with councillor involvement, professional associations and officers provide professional expertise to assist in the policy development process. The Convention is the ruling body which has overall control of COSLA's policy and direction. It consists of representatives from all member councils and political groups represented within Scottish Local Government. The Convention meets four times a year in different venues throughout Scotland. COSLA also acts as the employers' association on behalf of its members councils, negotiating salaries, wages and conditions of service for local government employees in Scotland with the relevant trade unions.