Union warns strike will close schools in the First Minister's constituency
UNISON announced two weeks of walk outs this morning
Last updated 8th Oct 2024
Schools and nurseries in Perth and Kinross could be closed for a month in an ongoing dispute about pay.
UNISON has announced council staff will walk out for two weeks from the 21st October - just as children return from the October break.
They are targeting the local authority because it is First Minister John Swinney's constituency, though the row affects council staff across the country.
What is UNISON hoping to achieve?
UNISON - the country's largest trade union - hopes its targeted action will "bring home to him the importance of finding a fair settlement" to the council pay dispute.
It comes after the union voted against the latest pay offer from local government umbrella body Cosla, which will see staff receive an increase of either 67p an hour or 3.6%, whichever is higher.
Council leaders in Scotland have already voted to impose the deal despite Unison's opposition, saying that two other unions - GMB and Unite - have accepted it.
However, Unison said that its members are angry that the pay deal they have been offered lags behind that of other public services - with nurses and other NHS staff being given a 5.5% wage hike.
A 'last resort'
Stuart Hope, Unison's Perth and Kinross branch secretary, urged the First Minister to talk to union members on the picket line "to hear how undervalued council staff in his constituency feel".
Mr Hope said: "Taking action like this is the last thing school and early years staff want to do.
"Employees are taking this first stand on behalf of all local government workers because they've seen a decade of pay cuts and they see other sectors being offered deals of greater value."
He added: "A fair pay deal should have been in place from April 1 but six months later it's still not been agreed.
"Instead, the employer has imposed a wage rise rejected by a majority of the workers Unison represents. Yet again local government staff are being forced to strike to simply get fair pay.
"The Scottish Government needs to understand that council staff need more than platitudes. Ministers must tackle the severe decline in local government funding and start to value councils and their dedicated workforce as they do other areas of public services."
How has the First Minister responded?
Speaking to Radio Tay news this morning, John Swinney said it is a matter of 'deep regret' that the strikes have been announced.
He explained: 'Two of the other trade unions have accepted the pay offer that has been made by local government.
'The pay offer that was made was in accordance with what all three trade unions asked of local Government so I'm deeply disappointed that it is happening.
'I don't think there is any justification for industrial action when a pay offer has been accepted by two trade unions and it should be accepted by the third.'
We have approached Cosla for comment.