Essential school staff across Scotland vote in favour of strike action as 24 councils affected

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Essential school staff across Scotland have voted in favour of strike action which is expected to start in autumn if a pay deal is not struck.A union has warned that staff including cleaners, janitors and support workers will "do what it takes to get an improved pay deal" after workers voted to strike in 24 out of the country's 32 council areas.It is the largest ever vote for strike action by school staff in Scotland, and Unison said there was an "overwhelming vote in favour of strike action in every council" but a 50% turnout had to be met.Unison balloted school staff working for every council in Scotland over the 5% pay offer from employer body Cosla, and described the response as "unprecedented".Workers were due a pay rise in April and have also been offered an additional increase dependent on salary from January 2024 for all local government workers.Non-teaching school staff who are members of GMB Scotland also balloted to strike last week and have announced strike dates of September 13 and 14 across Aberdeen, Clackmannanshire, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Orkney, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire.The 24 councils where Unison strikes are threatened are: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, and East Dunbartonshire.Also impacted were: East Renfrewshire, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Moray, North Ayrshire, Orkney Islands, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, and West Dunbartonshire.Unison Scotland's local government committee will meet next week to take the next steps to prepare for industrial action, which is