Bin strikes and school closures could hit across Scotland after council workers voted overwhelmingly to reject a pay offer from local government.

Unison, the largest union in local government, has mandates for strike action by waste and recycling workers at 13 councils, as well as for education and early years support staff in five.

That mandate could be put into action after the latest pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), was overwhelmingly rejected by members.

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Unison said 86% of those balloted had rejected the offer, which would see an hourly uplift in pay of 67p per hour or a 3.6% increase, whichever is higher.

Unison Scotland local government committee chair Colette Hunter said: “COSLA and the Scottish government need to understand the anger among council staff.

“They want a fair increase to stop their pay consistently falling behind, and for their wage increase to be in line with other areas of the economy.”

Unison announced last week it would close schools and waste services in First Minister John Swinney's constituency, Perth & Kinross.

UNISON Scotland local government lead David O’Connor said: “Going on strike is never an easy decision, as council staff are acutely aware of the disruption it causes. They’re asking why they have to do this every year.

“There’s a high bar to reach the legal threshold imposed by union laws, so not all councils achieve the mandate required.

“However, the anger is palpable. Thousands have rejected Cosla’s pay offer, with an overwhelming majority (92%) of those who voted agreeing to strike.

“The First Minister’s constituency will be the initial target, ensuring he cannot overlook the real anger among staff regarding this inadequate pay offer.”

It says council workers are seeking an uplift in line with other public service workers, many of whom have been offered an increase of 5.5%.

A COSLA Spokesperson said: "We are deeply disappointed to learn that Unison have rejected our latest strong, above inflation SJC pay offer. This offer is at the absolute limit of affordability for Local Government and fully exhausts all available additional funding from Scottish Government.

“Local Government have a responsibility to ensure sustainable service delivery for our communities across Scotland. We are clear that increasing the value of any pay offer would have very serious consequences. We remain concerned that Unison’s expectations cannot be met without further unpalatable difficult decisions.

“We are aware that communities will be concerned about the potential impact of industrial action on the most vulnerable. We would urge Unison to reconsider our strong offer which has an overall value of 4.27%."