Three-day action over cuts begins amid confusion caused by split between unions on how to handle new offer
The Scottish government has been warned to anticipate more school strikes as thousands of pupils spent the first of three days at home on Tuesday.
Last-minute talks over the weekend had failed to halt the strike action by school support staff, closing hundreds of schools in 24 of the country’s 32 local authorities.
On Tuesday morning, busy picket lines were made up of support staff such as janitors, canteen workers, classroom assistants and cleaners, who said the dispute was prompted by years of underfunding and job cuts.
But the picture was confused after a renewed offer from the umbrella body for Scotland’s councils, Cosla, was rejected by Unison, which has the largest representation in most areas, while Unite and GMB suspended their strike plans in order to consult with members.
In a highly unusual split between the three unions, Unite officials wrote to their members late last week saying Unison’s decision to continue the strike could mean they would need to cross Unison picket lines when they went back to work.
As a result, the impact of the strikes are being felt unevenly across the country, with some parents waiting to hear from their local authority on Tuesday whether they might have enough staff to reopen schools for the next two days.
On Tuesday afternoon, Glasgow city council confirmed to parents “due to high numbers of staff taking part in this week’s industrial action, we will not be able to make any changes to the arrangements in place”.
In Glasgow some secondaries remained open to students in senior 4-6, while primaries and nurseries were all closed, while in Edinburgh all primary and secondary schools in Edinburgh were shut. In Aberdeenshire, 39 schools were closed and 21 partially closed.
Lilian Macer, Unison’s Scottish secretary, said the latest offer from employers was “too little, too late and too vague”. She warned that more strikes “will be on the cards” without a “significantly” better offer, and called on the first minster, Humza Yousaf, to meet members on the picket line.
A deadline was set for Wednesday last week for Cosla to make an improved pay offer, but was extended while additional funding was sought from the Scottish government that freed up £80m in ringfenced funding for a new deal, including an increase of £2,006 for the lowest paid.
Mark Ferguson, who is Unison Scotland’s chair of local government, told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Tuesday: “Neither the Scottish government nor Cosla can explain exactly where this money is coming from and we don’t want it to come from more cuts to jobs and services.”
© OfficialAffairs
