Further school strikes are set to take place in Scotland after a union voted to reject a pay offer for council workers - including janitors, cleaners, canteen staff, early years workers and classroom assistants.
Nine in 10 Unison members (89.9 per cent) voted to reject the latest pay offer from local government umbrella body Cosla in a consultative ballot.
The union said a rolling programme of strikes in schools and nurseries will take place in the coming weeks, with dates to be announced within days.
The strikes will follow industrial action by Unison members in 24 local authorities last month, which led to school and nursery closures across much of the country.
Lilian Macer, Unison’s Scottish secretary, said that as much as the strike was about pay, it was also about “standing up for local services” and making sure children are taught in “well-resourced, well-staffed schools”.
School support staff ‘no option but to strike’
She added: “No one wants to cause disruption for pupils and parents, but school staff have been left with no other option.
“The blame must be laid squarely at the door of Cosla and Scottish ministers. They have it within their gift to end the strike, but they are showing no sign of wanting to do so. That’s a terrible shame for everyone affected.”
Cosla’s pay offer - made after the Scottish government freed up £80 million - would result in the wages of the lowest-paid workers rising by around £2,000 a year.
Responding to the Unison ballot result, Katie Hagmann, Cosla’s resources spokesperson, described it as “very disappointing given the strength of the offer on the table”.
She said that Scottish council leaders valued their workforce and had worked with the Scottish government to put “an incredibly strong half-a-billion-pound pay package on the table”.
She said offering an almost 10 per cent rise for the lowest-paid workers and at least 5.5 per cent for everyone else was as far as local government could go without impacting service and jobs.
Two other unions are consulting their members over the offer - Unite and GMB.
The results of the GMB Scotland ballot are expected tomorrow (17 October).
