Support staff at schools and nurseries across almost a third of Scotland’s local authorities have voted to strike in a pay dispute.
GMB Scotland members in cleaning, janitorial, catering and pupil support in 10 councils across the country have backed industrial action.
The local authority areas involved are Aberdeen, Clackmannanshire, the Western Isles, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Orkney, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire.
The union said strikes will take place unless a breakthrough comes at last-ditch talks with local authorities’ body Cosla on Wednesday.
More than 8,000 members of the around 21,000 workers the union represents in these areas voted for industrial action.
The ballot came after 94 per cent of the members rejected the councils’ offer of a 5.5 per cent in-year pay rise.
GMB Scotland’s senior organiser for public services, Keir Greenaway, said the union’s members were “sick of being overworked and undervalued”.
He said: “It is no surprise that our members are prepared to strike rather than accept an offer that is less than last year, despite the costs of living being even higher.
“Our members have now spoken and Cosla should listen and arrive tomorrow with a fair offer and seize what is the final opportunity to avert industrial action.”
A Cosla spokesperson said: “The reality of the situation is that as employers, council leaders have made a strong offer to the workforce. A strong offer which clearly illustrates the value councils place on their workforce, and it compares well to other sectors.
“It recognises the cost-of-living pressures on our workforce and, critically, it seeks to protect jobs and services.
“While the offer value in year is 5.5 per cent, the average uplift on salaries going into the next financial year is 7 per cent.
“Those on the Scottish local government living wage would get 9.12 per cent and those at higher grades, where councils are experiencing severe recruitment challenges, would see 6.05 per cent.”
He said the offer committed Cosla to working with unions to develop a “road map” to a Scottish local government living wage of £15 an hour, up from the £11.84 in the proposal and the current rate of £10.83.
In March, Scottish teachers officially accepted a pay deal that involved a 14.6 per cent increase in pay for most teachers by January 2024. This accumulated in three stages over the course of 28 months, starting from a backdated 7 per cent pay increase for 2022-23.
The EIS - Scotland’s largest teaching union - had been campaigning for a 10 per cent pay rise and when industrial action got underway in Scotland in November of last year, the best offer on the table was worth 5 per cent to most teachers.
