DEPUTY First Minister John Swinney is due to meet unions today in the latest attempt to stop strikes that could shut schools and nurseries and further escalate bin collection stoppages from tomorrow (Friday).
Trade unions are due to be joined by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) - which acts as an employers' association - to call for significantly increased funding to allow pay talks to continue.
The strikes could shut schools and nurseries in up to 21 of Scotland's 32 local authority areas are due to start on Friday.
Today, a waste collection strike called by the union Unite has been escalated to 13 other councils after being started in Edinburgh and is due to end on August 30.
The stoppage will run between August 24 and 31 in Aberdeen City, Angus, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.
Waste workers with public services union UNISON Scotland will begin their stoppage on Friday, with further strikes on August 27, 28 and 29 and on September 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Talks between unions and COSLA broke down on Tuesday over a 5% 'undifferentiated' pay offer.
Wendy Dunsmore of Unite warned of a "winter of discontent" with unions “here for the long haul”.
Mr Swinney has said the piles of rubbish building up throughout Edinburgh are “deeply concerning” for public health.
Local government minister Shona Robison last week called the increased pay offer a "welcome step forward" - a line she repeated late on Tuesday.
Both the public services union UNISON Scotland and GMB Scotland served notice on nine councils in advance of the talks yesterday that over 14,000 schools and early years staff will be on strike next month.
Unite have a mandate to strike in schools and nurseries in a further 12 local authority areas which could lead to thousands more walking out.
UNISON Scotland said it will be the "largest strike among council workers since the Trade Union Act was introduced in 2016".
UNISON’s local government committee agreed the 5% offer is not good enough and that strike action would continue.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland’s head of local government, said: “A percentage increase would mean that those on the highest wages would get the highest pay increase while those on the lowest would receive the least – we believe that is completely unfair given the cost of living pressures affecting everyone right now.
"A flat-rate increase was a key element of our pay claim but the cost envelope that leaders agreed last week was never going to be enough to provide members with a decent increase. Warm words don’t pay our members bills and we need the deputy first minister and COSLA to come up with a significantly improved financial package at the meeting today if widespread disruption is going to be averted.”
Unions say the details of the current offer mean that the lowest paid council workers would receive 7.36% taking them to a new Scottish Local Government Living Wage of £10.50.
For more than half of local government workers, COSLA’s offer represented an offer of between £900-£1,250. The unions say by comparison the UK Government is offering council workers in England a £1,925 flat rate pay offer.
Unite has said it was drawing attention to broader inflation (RPI) soaring to hit a forty-year high of 12.3 per cent with warnings that headline inflation (CPI) could reach 18 per cent by the start of next year.
Mark Ferguson, chair of UNISON Scotland’s local government committee, said: “This pay offer is nowhere near the offer made to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our members quite rightly want to know why the Scottish Government believes Scotland’s public service workers are worth so much less than their counterparts south of the border.
“With inflation currently running at above 10% - and only set to increase – this pay offer would be nothing more than a significant pay cut, and one that our members simply cannot afford as they struggle to meet rising fuel, food and household costs.”
UNISON Scotland has sent legal notices of strike action to councils. Those affected are City of Glasgow, Orkney Islands, Aberdeenshire East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Inverclyde.
The union said 13,000 school and early years workers will strike on September 6, 7 and 8.
GMB Scotland confirmed strike action amongst 1350 staff in schools and early years services in Glasgow City Council and East Renfrewshire Council between September 6 and 8. Workers involved in the walk out come from cleaning, janitorial, catering and pupil support services.
The Unite union has a mandate for further strike action in schools and early years services in Angus, City of Edinburgh, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and Perth and Kinross (Tayside Contracts).
Cabinet Secretary for local government Shona Robison said: “The increased pay offer to local government workers by councils is a welcome step forward and has been supported by the Scottish Government’s commitment of an additional £140 million for council workers' pay on a recurring basis.
“As the employers, these pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities and unions - the Scottish Government has no formal role. However, throughout discussions we have sought to work collaboratively with COSLA while providing full transparency around our financial position. The Scottish Government strongly encourages local authorities and trades unions to take forward and while this is happening for strike action not to take place.
“All areas of the public sector are having to make challenging savings to stay within budget. The UK Government has cut the Scottish Government’s budget and not adjusted it for inflation, exacerbating the financial situation for both government and councils. Nevertheless, we have sought to do what we can within the resources available to us to support a meaningful revised offer in the face of the cost of living emergency.”
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