UNISON has today served notice of further strike action in the dispute over local government pay, to South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife councils.
Staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools, within those four local authorities will walk out on Wednesday 8 November.
This will be the second week of a rolling programme of action that will take place. UNISON has already notified Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde councils, that staff working in schools, and early years establishments linked to schools in those authorities will be taking strike action on Wednesday 1 November.
Further strike dates involving other councils will be announced in due course.
The action comes after UNISON members voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer. More than 21,000 workers represented by the union took three days of strike action in September, resulting in the closure of 75% of Scotland’s schools.
UNISON Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter said: “Despite our repeated calls for Cosla and the Scottish government to get back round the table for meaningful discussions we have had no invitations to even exploratory talks.
“The union is committed to reaching a resolution to this dispute as soon as possible. And there is still time for Cosla and the Scottish government to get back round the negotiating table to explore every avenue to reaching a negotiated settlement and avoid further disruption for parents and students.
“The strength of feeling amongst UNISON’s 91,000 local government members, who voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer, is clear. They are determined to continue to fight to get an improved pay offer.”
