School strikes in John Swinney's constituency start today amid payment dispute

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Strikes in schools in John Swinney's constituency will start today amid an ongoing pay dispute. In Perth and Kinross, all primary schools, nurseries, intensive support settings, as well as two secondary schools, will be closed on Monday.The local council have said some may be able to open later this week but they were unable to carry out risk assessments due to the mid-term October break, meaning facilities could not open immediately today.Trade union Unison called the strike targeting the First Minister’s seat over the next fortnight after members working in non-teaching roles in schools rejected a pay offer from local authority body Cosla.

The deal would have increased pay by 67p an hour or 3.6 per cent, whichever was higher.The deal was accepted by the two other main unions and council leaders voted to impose the increase on staff.

But Unison rejected the deal and pushed ahead with their industrial action.Perth and Kinross Council hopes to be able to re-open some schools this week but said the situation would likely remain “fluid” for the duration of the strike, and “may change for individual schools on a day-to-day basis”.The First Minister has previously described the targeting of his seat as “unacceptable” and there was “no justification” for it.

He added there is no more money for the Scottish Government to hand local authorities to fund a better deal.Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and