School staff members across 24 councils in Scotland, including Aberdeenshire, will take strike action over three days from Tuesday, 26 to Thursday, 28 September in our dispute over pay.
The union served 14 days’ notice of the strike action to employers on 7th Sept.
More than three quarters of Scotland’s schools will face closure on these days.
The action will affect primary and secondary schools. With strikes in 24 local authorities, 76% of Scotland’s schools will be affected (1,868 schools).
UNISON Scotland’s head of local government, Johanna Baxter said: “Going on strike is always a last resort – our members want to be in schools supporting children not on picket lines outside them. But they have been left with no option. Local government workers overwhelmingly rejected COSLA’s below-inflation pay offer back in March and despite our repeated representations no improvement has been forthcoming.
“A real-terms pay cut in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis is a cut our members simply cannot afford. This is not a highly-paid workforce – three quarters of local government workers earn less than the average Scottish wage. All they want is to be paid fairly for the vital work they do supporting Scotland’s communities – COSLA and the Scottish Government need to get back round the table and work with us to deliver that.”
Branch secretary and member of the negotiators, Inez Kirk said: “Our members are steadfast in their resolve to fight for fair pay. COSLA’s offer falls short of UNISON’s pay claim, it is also less than the offer made to the lowest paid local government staff south of the border. No-one wants to see schools close but COSLA need to come back with a significantly improved pay offer very soon if strike action is to be avoided. We remain committed to engaging in negotiations with COSLA and the Scottish Government at any point to try to resolve this dispute.”