School support staff in four more Scottish local authority areas will walk out next month in a dispute over pay, Unison has announced.
Members in South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife will strike on Wednesday 8 November.
The action will come a week after members in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde walk out on Wednesday 1 November, as part of a rolling programme of action previously announced by the union.
It comes after Unison members voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest pay offer from local authorities’ body Cosla, which the union describes as a “real-terms pay cut”.
Speaking to the PA news agency, first minister Humza Yousaf said there would be no more money for local authorities to offer increased pay to staff.
“There is no more funding, I’ve been really clear about that,” he said.
“We have significant additional funding in order to get a really good pay deal on the table for our local government workers, and that’s why two out of three trade unions [United and GMB] have accepted the deal.”
Johanna Baxter, head of local government at Unison, said: “Despite our repeated calls for Cosla and the Scottish government to get back around the table for meaningful discussions, we have had no invitations to even exploratory talks.
“The union is committed to reaching a resolution to this dispute as soon as possible. And there is still time for Cosla and the Scottish government to get back around the negotiating table to explore every avenue to reaching a negotiated settlement and avoid further disruption for parents and students.”
Ms Baxter added: “The strength of feeling among Unison’s 91,000 local government members, who voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer, is clear. They are determined to continue to fight to get an improved pay offer.”
School closures
A large proportion of schools in Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire will be closed during the strikes next Wednesday.
In Glasgow, all nurseries, primary schools and additional support learning schools will close on 1 November. Secondary schools in Glasgow will only be open for S4-6, except for Glasgow Gaelic Secondary School, which will be closed to all students.
In East Renfrewshire, all primary schools, nursery classes within schools and Isobel Mair School will be closed, while secondary schools will be closed to all S1-S3s and remain open to S4-S6 students. The position will be similar in Renfrewshire, while Inverclyde Council has yet to confirm its plans.
Mark Ferguson, chair of Unison Scotland, said: “The current offer amounts to a real-terms pay cut and adds further stress to a dedicated workforce already suffering from the cost-of-living crisis.
“Cosla and the Scottish government need to give school staff a decent wage rise, fund any increase properly and commit to implementing a minimum underpinning rate of pay of £15 per hour for all local government workers.”
Cosla and the Scottish government have been approached for comment.
