Schools in four local authorities in Scotland will close in November as a new date for strike action was announced.

Unison support staff in Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde will walk out on Wednesday 1 November as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

The walkout is part of a planned rolling action of strikes, with the union saying that further dates in more council areas will be announced in due course.

Members of the GMB and Unite unions this week voted to accept the pay deal on offer, though they criticised what they saw as a "frustrating" negotiation process.

More than 21,000 people took three days of strike action in September, resulting in the closure of 75% of Scotland’s schools.

Read More: School support staff accept new pay offer but union criticises 'frustrating' process

Unison Scotland head of local government Johanna Baxter said: “The strength of feeling amongst Unison school staff, who voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer, is clear for all to see. Both in terms of ballot votes and the number of people on picket lines across Scotland.  

“We’ve also seen a surge in Unison membership. That’s a testament to the strength of local government workers’ resolve to continue their fight for fair pay.

“The union is committed to resolving this dispute as soon as possible. Cosla and the Scottish Government are urged to get back round the negotiating table to explore every avenue to reach a settlement and avoid further disruption for parents and students.”

Unison Scotland chair of the local government committee Mark Ferguson said: “No one takes the decision to strike lightly. 

The Herald:

“I’m a parent myself, so I understand the disruption strikes cause. But if wages don’t rise, school staff will leave for other jobs beyond education that pay significantly more. That would be a disaster and would help no one.  

“The current offer amounts to a real-terms pay cut and adds further stress to a dedicated workforce already suffering from the cost-of-living crisis.

“Cosla and the Scottish government need to give school staff a decent wage rise, fund any increase properly and commit to implementing a pay rate of £15 per hour for all local government workers.”

After GMB and Unite opted to settle the dispute, councillor Katie Hagmann, Cosla’s resources spokesperson said: “I am delighted with today’s response from members of both the GMB and Unite trade unions in voting to accept the strong offer Cosla has on the table. 

"Their union negotiators also deserve a great deal of credit for the pragmatic approach they took in recommending acceptance to their respective memberships.

“It is pleasing that these two trade unions see the value Scotland’s council leaders place on our workforce.

Read More: School strikes to continue in Scotland as union rejects latest pay offer

“We have listened to our trade unions, met all their asks, and worked with Scottish Government to put an incredibly strong half a billion pound pay package forward.

“When you extrapolate the votes across all unions it shows that only around one local government worker in five (excluding teachers) has voted to reject the strong pay offer presented.

"Significantly,  membership of the two unions who have accepted predominantly comprises those in lower paid roles across local government and this is where we were asked to focus the deal.

“This is a realistic response from the two trade unions who have recognised that not only have we as employers targeted those workers on the lowest pay as they requested, but they have also recognised that as employers we have gone as far as we can go without impacting service and jobs.

"These are not empty words - we have put our very best and final offer to the unions – councils have been more than fair in this strong offer and the GMB and Unite unions have done well in accepting it without the need to take industrial action."