A union has announced five more areas where school support staff will walk out later this month in a pay dispute that again shut schools in parts of Scotland today.
Tens of thousands of children are missing lessons today as school staff in Glasgow, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire walk out in a row over pay. Today’s action follows three days of strike action in September.
Unison has now served notice of a strike in Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Angus, and Perth and Kinross on Wednesday 15 November, a week after a walkout already planned in South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife on Wednesday 8 November.
Also in Tes Scotland this week:
The action is part of rolling strikes by Unison members after the union rejected a pay offer from local authorities’ body Cosla.
Johanna Baxter, Unison Scotland’s head of local government, said members are “determined to continue to fight to get an improved pay offer”.
The Unite and GMB unions accepted the offer, but Mark Ferguson, chairman of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, said it is below the rate of inflation and his union is looking for “an inflation-proofed offer”.
Following reports that Cosla may be planning to impose the offer, he urged it not to do so, saying it would lead to an “escalation”.
School support staff strike shuts schools
School janitors, cleaners and pupil support assistants are among those taking strike action today in East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Glasgow.
A large proportion of schools have been shut, although some secondaries remained open for students in S4-6 who are preparing for exams.
The revised pay offer represents a minimum increase of £2,006 for workers on the Scottish local government living wage, and a minimum of £1,929 for those above the rate.
The living wage of £10.85 will rise to £11.89 per hour, equivalent to a 9.6 per cent increase.
Katie Hagmann, Cosla resources spokesperson, previously said it had put “an incredibly strong half-a-billion-pound pay package on the table”, and that it is “disappointing” Unison members had voted to strike.
A Cosla spokesperson said there would be a meeting of council leaders on Friday and it would make no further comment until then.
Last week first minister Humza Yousaf said there would be no more money for local authorities to offer increased pay to staff.
