School support staff in four more council areas will walk out next month in a dispute over pay, Unison has announced.
Members in South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and Fife will strike on Wednesday November 8.
The union has already announced that members in Glasgow City, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde will walk out on Wednesday November 1.
It comes after Unison members voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla’s latest pay offer.
The union said it will be carrying out a rolling programme of action with further strike dates and other councils to be announced in due course.
Read More: City of Glasgow College staff vote to continue strikes
A large proportion of schools in Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire will be closed during the strike next Wednesday.
In Glasgow, all nurseries, primary schools, and additional support learning schools will close, while secondary schools will only open for S4–S6 pupils. Glasgow Gaelic Secondary School will be closed to all pupils.
In East Renfrewshire, all primary schools, nursery classes within schools and Isobel Mair School will be closed, while secondary schools will be closed to S1-S3 pupils.
The position will be similar in Renfrewshire, while Inverclyde Council has yet to confirm its plans.
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.”
The GMB and Unite unions have already accepted a pay deal, which Cosla said was "our very best and final offer" but over 90% of Unison members voted to reject it.
First Minister Humza Yousaf told the PA News Agency: "There is no more funding, I’ve been really clear about that.
"We have significant additional funding in order to get a really good pay deal on the table for our local government workers, and that’s why two out of three trade unions have accepted the deal.”
Unison is the largest employer of support staff in schools, meaning closures are likely due to the ongoing action.
Councillor Katie Hagmann, Cosla’s resources spokesperson said: “The ballot result from Unison was very disappointing given the strength of the offer on the table. I would like to make the following points:
“Firstly, Scotland’s council leaders value their workforce.
“Secondly, 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 on the table – which our other trade union partners have voted to accept.
“Finally, offering almost 10 per cent or a £2006 pay increase for our lowest paid workers, which the unions specifically asked for, and £1929 or at least 5.5% for everyone else is as far as local government can go without impacting on essential services and jobs locally."
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