School staff in Stirling balloted on further strike action over council pay dispute

dailyrecord.co.uk:

School staff in Stirling are being balloted this week in an ongoing dispute which could lead to school closures next month.The ballot is related to a pay fight for all council workers – with 30,000 school staff across Scotland set to be asked about industrial action.The vote – which is set to close on Friday – comes following a consultation from the Unison union earlier this year of its entire local government membership on the pay offer from COSLA.It included a five per cent increase from April this year, plus an additional increase that varied depending on an individual’s salary which was to be payable from January 2024.The offer was rejected by 87 per cent of those polled, with nine in ten members also backing moves towards strike action in an effort to secure a wage increase.The potential school action follows on from waste and recycling workers in Stirling and Perth and Kinross, who are set to take part in a four-day walkout next week (August 10-13).School staff are the next group to be balloted, with Unison deciding in the coming months whether to ask other groups of workers.UNISON Scotland head of local government, Johanna Baxter, said: “COSLA’s offer falls short of Unison’s pay claim, it is also less than the offer made to the lowest paid local government staff south of the border.“And it would be a real-terms pay cut during the cost of living crisis.“Despite efforts to move negotiations along, we’re now at an impasse.

COSLA has refused to improve its pay offer, which Unison members overwhelmingly rejected.“It also says it doesn’t have the cash to offer more but is also refusing to ask the Scottish government for additional funding.“Council and school staff are fed up.