Strike by support staff closes Scottish schools as further walkouts announced

Tens of thousands of pupils are out of the classroom on Wednesday in Glasgow, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.

School support staff are taking strike action in four areas of Scotland, with further walkouts planned over the coming weeks (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

A union has announced five more areas where school support staff will walk out later this month in a pay dispute that has again shut schools in parts of Scotland.

Tens of thousands of children are missing lessons on Wednesday as school staff in Glasgow, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire walk out in a row over pay, which follows three days of strike action in September.

Unison has now served notice of a strike in Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Angus, and Perth and Kinross on Wednesday November 15, a week after a walkout already planned in South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife on November 8.

The action is part of rolling strikes by Unison members after the union rejected a pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla).

Unison Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter said members are “determined to continue to fight to get an improved pay offer”.

The Unite and GMB unions accepted the offer, but Mark Ferguson, chairman of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, said it is below the rate of inflation and his union is looking for “an inflation-proofed offer”.

Following reports Cosla may be planning to impose the offer, he urged it not to do so.

Mr Ferguson told the PA news agency: “We’ve had some constructive dialogue with Cosla this week, I met with them on Monday, we’re waiting on a response.

“We’re hoping that they take on board our concerns and the fact that we’re taking industrial action and try and resolve the dispute.

“If imposition happens then I’m pretty sure and confident there’ll be an escalation, our members’ resolve is quite strong and they want a settlement that means something to them in this cost-of-living crisis.

“We urge Cosla not to impose this offer, but if they do then the union will respond in the way that it needs to.”

Workers including janitors, cleaners and pupil support assistants are among those taking strike action on Wednesday in East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Glasgow.

A large proportion of schools are shut, however some secondary schools remain open for pupils in S4-6 preparing for exams.

The revised offer represents a minimum increase of £2,006 for workers on the Scottish local government living wage, and a minimum of £1,929 for those above the rate.

The living wage of £10.85 will rise to £11.89 per hour – equivalent to a 9.6% increase.

Mr Ferguson said: “This offer is below the rate of inflation for every single worker in Scottish councils and we want an inflation-proofed offer, but we don’t want that to come from jobs and services.”

Speaking on the picket line outside Castlehead High School in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Mr Ferguson said members do not want to disrupt children’s education but are being “forced into it”.

He said: “We can’t keep going the way we’re going, we’re not retaining people, we’re not recruiting people, and we’re not valuing our workers in Scottish councils.

“I say to parents, stay with us because if we win this dispute it will be an improvement to everybody’s lives and the children in the longer term.”

Cosla resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann previously said it had put “an incredibly strong half a billion pound pay package on the table”, and that it is “disappointing” Unison members had voted to strike.

She added: “Offering almost 10%, or a £2,006 pay increase, for lowest paid workers, which the unions asked for, and £1,929, or at least 5.5%, for everyone else is as far as local government can go without impacting service and jobs.”

A Cosla spokesperson said: “Whilst there was good progress made on Friday, there will be a further meeting of council leaders later this Friday.”

They said there will be no further comment until then.