5th September 2022
Possible September Closures for Scottish Schools after Union Confirms Strike Action
Facilities staff are set to walk out in a dispute over pay
School closures in September have been threatened after a trade union confirmed strike action over a pay dispute. Unison said school and early years workers will join bin workers who will already have staged their own walk out.
Refuse and recycling staff in a majority of local authority areas are poised for strike action over pay. School staff and early learning workers, who do not include teachers, are also gearing up to take action.
COSLA, the union which which represents councils, initially offered a 3.5% rise to staff, which led to workers voting for strike action. A revised offer of 5% is currently being considered. .
The Unison Statement
Johanna Baxter, Unison Scotland head of local government, said: “We are in urgent negotiations with the employer to try and find a solution, but so far we have only had an offer of talks - we have not had a pay offer. Until we can explain to UNISON members how a pay offer might impact on them, council workers have been left with no choice but to strike. UNISON has been demanding pay talks for months and COSLA and the Scottish Government are still dragging their heels. Inflation is predicted to rise to more than 13 per cent, and our members are struggling as fuel, food and household bills go through the roof. Until we have a decent pay offer that we can put to UNISON members our strike action will continue and thousands of school and early years workers will be talking action across nine councils in Scotland.”
Which councils could see strike action and when will it take place?
Unison has informed nine councils across Scotland that strike action may occur between September 6 and 8. The same union’s refuse workers are set to go on strike later this week.
The councils notified include Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Orkney, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils.