Five Scottish council areas are set to experience school closures following further staff strikes by Unison. The industrial action comes as the dispute involves pupil support, cleaning, catering administration, and janitorial workers in schools and early year centres. Unison members in Dundee City, Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Angus, and Perth and Kinross will participate in the one-day walkout on 15 November, with future dates to be confirmed. The council body Cosla has argued that offering a higher pay rise would be unaffordable.
On Wednesday, strikes took place in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and Inverclyde resulting in school closures, as workers continued their protest for higher wages. Further strikes are set to take place in South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, and Fife next Wednesday. Although some schools remained open, primary schools were mostly closed, but some secondary schools allowed students with assessments and exams to attend.
Unison members voted for strike action in October after members of the other two main council unions – Unite and the GMB – accepted Cosla’s revised pay offer. Full details of the closures are on council websites. Earlier in November, the pay offer from Cosla had been rejected by the workers, causing escalated tensions between the council and the staff. Unison’s head of local government in Scotland, Johanna Baxter, said the members are determined to continue the fight for a better pay rise.
Council leaders from various regions of Scotland are set to decide on Friday whether to bring the offer to implementation, despite Unison’s opposition. This would mean workers would receive a pay rise, backdated to April, in time for Christmas. However, if Cosla imposes the offer, it may lead to further strike action by other council workers, such as refuse collectors, who may participate in the protests. Unison is firmly asking Cosla to refrain from imposing the offer and to seek a resolution as soon as possible
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