Strike action earmarked for Wednesday threatens to shutter schools in four council territories. Staff members, in a dispute over pay rates, have decided to down tools. Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and Inverclyde are set to experience the impact of this one-day strike by aggrieved council workers. This latest demonstration of dissent follows a three-day strike that occurred in September.
Council representative body, Cosla, counters that an enhanced pay increase remains out of financial reach. Those embroiled in the disagreement span a broad band of non-teaching employees such as catering personnel, cleaning crew, student support staff, administrators, and janitorial workers.
The proposed strike extends to primary school closures within the four council areas, though certain secondary institutions may cater to S4, S5, and S6 students. Information pertaining to this can be accessed on council websites. For some students, this can mean a year marked by 12 days of missed educational opportunities due to strike action.
A historic teachers’ strike which spanned from November to March led to an eight-day education disruption for some. A subsequent three-day strike coordinated by Unison further added three days to that tally in September. The disruption infiltrates even council-managed nurseries.
More strikes are being marshaled for the following week across South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, and Fife. Cosla maintains its offer of approximately £2,000 annual pay rise for the lowest earning workers. Others are promised a minimum 5.5% increase. Despite the opposition of Unison, Unite and the GMB, two primary council unions have accepted the deal.
Unison’s local government leader in Scotland Johanna Baxter, earlier in the month, affirmed the determination of the union’s 91,000 local government members to fight for better pay. However, Cosla retorts that its current offer is as far as they can afford to budge.
The next decision falls to council chiefs across Scotland scheduled to meet on Friday. They face the call to initiate the proposed pay raise, despite Unison’s voiced discontent. Though an act that could see a pay boost before Christmas, the consequence might be an escalated row with Unison, set to announce further strikes in the upcoming days.
Unison threatens to rally other council workers, including refuse collectors, for the possibility of additional strike actions. A situation left unresolved could mean that the echoes of dissent continue to resonate in the coming weeks.
