School and nursery strike threat lifted by GMB and Unite after members accept pay deal

GMB Scotland and Unite say the pay deal was backed by their members - although Unison workers have rejected the offer.

Jenness Mitchell

Scotland reporter

Tuesday 17 October 2023 17:24, UK

The threat of strike action by GMB and Unite members in schools and nurseries across Scotland has ended, the unions have confirmed.

GMB Scotland said the pay deal offered by local government umbrella body COSLA was backed by 62% of its balloted workers.

Unite said 71% of its balloted members also approved of the offer.

On Monday, Unison announced its members had rejected the deal and confirmed a rolling programme of strikes would take place across the country during the coming weeks.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said it was "not a perfect offer but is a good one".

He said: "Our members have now backed this offer, which will deliver a fair pay rise for all council workers, but particularly those on the lowest salaries.

"It is not a perfect offer but it is a good one, and it was right our members, who were ready to strike in support of fair pay, were given the chance to vote on it.

"We have been assured no council services or jobs will be cut to fund this offer and will continue to ensure those assurances are kept."

The dispute involves non-teaching staff in schools and early years centres.

Unite and GMB both suspended strikes last month to put COSLA's latest offer to their members.

Unison instead opted to continue with three days of industrial action ahead of balloting members and recommended they reject it, which they now have.

The strikes closed many schools and nurseries across Scotland as members in catering, cleaning, pupil support, administration and janitorial services walked out.

The deal represents a minimum wage increase of £2,006 for those on the Scottish government's living wage and a minimum increase of £1,929 for workers who are earning above the living wage.

The living wage of £10.85 will rise to £11.89, equivalent to a 9.6% increase.

The pay offer is estimated to cost around £580m.

Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: "A minimum increase of over £2,000 for the lowest paid will be a welcome boost to the pay packets of our members during this ongoing cost of living crisis.

"Unite's members should be congratulated for the strong stance they have taken to deliver better jobs, pay and conditions across all Scottish councils."

Mr Greenaway said the negotiating had taken "far too long" and only "fuelled uncertainty and mistrust".

He added: "That it took the threat of strike action for COSLA to make an offer which could and should have been on the table months ago is frustrating and regrettable.

"Pay negotiations do not have to be like this.

"Instead of getting a fair pay offer and the money in their banks, our members have been asked to endure months of inaction, needless delay, and all the melodrama of deadlines and last-minute offers.

"The Scottish government and COSLA need to sit down with the unions to find a better way of negotiating and ensuring these discussions are done with a sense of urgency and fairness that has been absolutely lacking in recent months."

Graham McNab, Unite's lead negotiator for local government, agreed that the revised offer "should have been put on the table months ago" and was only tendered after the threat of industrial action.

He added: "Instead, we have witnessed the unedifying spectacle of COSLA and the Scottish government creating a bigger mess at each stage of this process.

"Unite will also not tolerate any threats of cuts to services in order to fund this pay offer. Decent pay rises should not come at the expense of vital services being cut in other areas."

Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA's resources spokesperson, said she was "delighted" that GMB Scotland and Unite members voted to accept the deal.

She said COSLA listened to the trade unions and worked with the Scottish government to put an "incredibly strong half a billion-pound pay package forward".

Ms Hagmann added: "This is a realistic response from the two trade unions who have recognised that not only have we as employers targeted those workers on the lowest pay as they requested, but they have also recognised that as employers we have gone as far as we can go without impacting service and jobs.

"These are not empty words - we have put our very best and final offer to the unions - councils have been more than fair in this strong offer and the GMB and Unite unions have done well in accepting it without the need to take industrial action.

"Both GMB and Unite have recognised the reality of where we are at this time, on behalf of their memberships, and that is a positive outcome for all."

AG百家乐在线官网