The General Manpower Union of Scotland (GMB Scotland) has declared that there will be a strike on September 13 and 14, which would affect non-teaching staff members in schools located in 10 different council areas.
Aberdeen, Clackmannanshire, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Orkney, Renfrewshire, and South Ayrshire are some of the places on the list of impacted locations in Scotland.
Members of GMB Scotland voted throughout the month of April to reject an offer of a pay increase of 5.5%.
The union asserts that the offer “does not come close” to matching the cost of living, and they have issued a warning about the possibility for unrest in schools as a result of this.
Participating in the action will be employees working in sectors such as catering, housekeeping, student assistance, administration, and janitorial services at schools and early years institutions.
According to the GMB Scotland, the organization that represents local authorities, known as Cosla, has declined to request help from the Scottish government or make any changes to the current salary offer. This message came from the GMB Scotland. September might be the month when teachers and other education staff members go on strike, according to the group that speaks on their behalf. The workers at the council have come to the conclusion that the proposed rise is not sufficient and have voted to reject it.
In a previous statement, Cosla said that the “bold offer” increased the local government living wage by 99 pence, bringing it up to £11.84 per hour. This was in answer to a query regarding whether or not the increase would be permanent.
In April, there were around 20,000 GMB members who participated in a vote that was against the deal.
A word of caution on the likelihood of disruption
Following the summer break, members of Unite employed by ten Scottish councils came to the conclusion that they would want to continue their wage dispute by going on strike; however, the dates for the strike have not yet been determined.
Unison has not yet informed its members of the results of the strike vote that it just conducted.
Keir Greenaway, the head organizer for GMB Scotland, said that “Scotland rests on the shoulders of our local authority personnel” and that “the gravity of their job must be reflected in the income that they get.”
“Throughout this drawn-out and aggravating process, COSLA has refused to really engage in conversation with our members. This has caused a great deal of frustration.” If they had, the children and their parents would not have to go through what they are now going through as a result of this interruption. If they had done this, they would have prevented it.
The line used the phrase “or else,” which meant that if “Cosla and Scottish politicians do not act swiftly, they risk turning a crisis into a calamity.” [The COSLA and the Scottish ministers] are under a pressing duty to take some kind of action right now.
A spokesperson for the COSLA organization said that the leaders of the council had made a “bold offer,” which unmistakably indicates the importance they have on their workers.
She said that even though the offer value for the current year is 5.5%, the average raise on pay going into the following financial year is 7%. This is despite the fact that the offer value for the current year is 5.5%. Despite the fact that the offer value for the current year is 5.5%, this outcome has occurred. Those who are now receiving the Scottish Local Government Living Wage would get 9.12% of the total, while those working at higher grades, which are where councils are having a significant amount of trouble recruiting new staff, would receive 6.05% of the total.
Rallying in front of the Scottish Parliament in the month of November of the year before, hundreds of striking teachers participated in the event.
The same time last year, it was anticipated that schools would be closed throughout the whole of Scotland due to planned council strikes that included non-teaching personnel. These strikes were scheduled to take place in the next week. The acceptance of a revised salary offer has resulted in the postponement of this event, therefore we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
In November, educators all around the country took part in enormous protests at schools as a part of the first countrywide schools strike in more than a decade. As a direct consequence of the strike, almost all primary and secondary schools throughout the nation, in addition to a sizeable number of municipal nurseries, were had to close their doors and evacuate their student bodies.
The situation rapidly worsened and became much more difficult to handle once educators from all council areas joined forces at the beginning of this year to organize continuous strikes. After giving the revised wage proposal considerable deliberation in March, it was decided not to proceed with the action after the decision to forgo pushing forward with the action was made.
There is a widespread conviction that there is still a considerable amount of time left, which may be used to negotiate a solution to the salary issue.
On the other hand, it is well aware that even the prospect of strikes that may result in the postponement of courses is a powerful tool in its arsenal.
During the previous year, a disagreement on council pay led to an accumulation of waste in Edinburgh and other towns. The Scottish government provided more funding to local councils in order to assist them in increasing the pay offer they were prepared to make, which in the end resulted in successful negotiations leading to the conclusion of a settlement. One of the reasons why the discussions for the settlement were successful was because of this particular feature.
Although the council body known as Cosla has not yet approached the government in order to request more pay money, they intend to do so in the very near future.
If the government does not contribute to the financing of the enhanced salary offer, some of the more important members of the council are of the opinion that it is very improbable that an improved wage offer would be reachable in the near future.
In the absence of a more substantial salary offer, employees may feel they have no option but to go on strike, regardless of the source of the money.
First Minister Humza Yousaf expresses a great degree of satisfaction over the fact that there were no strikes inside the Scottish National Health Service (NHS).
However, is it possible that the council will sentence him for a second time in a little bit more than a year’s time? Even if teachers did not take part in the strike, this would be the second time in the recent months that industrial action had an influence on the educational system.