North Lanarkshire nursery workers to strike for four days

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Early-years workers across North Lanarkshire will stage four days of strikes over controversial proposals to regrade their posts and reduce their wages by thousands of pounds per year.Trade union Unison has announced that its members will walk out on September 7, 8, 12 and 13 and say the action is “expected to close nurseries across the council”; while the local authority says a second union has also served similar notice.It comes after 97 per cent of members who took part in Unison's ballot in June voted to go on strike in response to the plan to replace 375 current grade 9 practictioner roles with lower-paid grade 7 key worker posts.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Unison North Lanarkshire branch secretary Marie Quigley said: “The last thing in the world these early years workers want to do is go on strike – they want to be in nurseries supporting children and families and preparing them for primary school.“But the council is threatening them with fire and rehire plans which would leave the majority £6500 worse off per year.

This just isn’t right.“The union’s doing everything possible to find a solution; the council is urged to withdraw these plans and get back around the table with Unison to find a solution.”Representatives of the local government and education union confirmed that they have