Another summer of discontent: What industries are planning strike action?

Scotland is facing the prospect of another long summer of industrial action.

Workers across numerous sectors are planning strikes in response to stagnant wages that are failing to keep pace with the cost of living.

From the railways to the classroom to our hospitals, there is frustration among public sector staff.

STV News takes a look at the potential flashpoints in the months to come.

Council waste workers

Cleansing workers will take action over eight days in August, with staff at Edinburgh City Council walking out during the capital’s busy summer festival period.

Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, will also be affected by the action due to start at 5am on Wednesday August 14 and last until 4.59am on Thursday August 22.

Unison, Unite and GMB union members in 26 of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas will strike, and the union said the action will mean bins are not emptied “from the smallest villages to the biggest cities”.

It comes amid a dispute over council workers’ pay, with the three unions involved having all rejected a 3.2% pay rise offered by local government body COSLA.

Teachers

Tens of thousands of staff in schools, early years education and family centres in Scotland are currently being balloted for strike action in an ongoing dispute over pay.

If staff vote in favour of action, the trade union Unison says there could be closures across the country in September.

Unison Scotland local government chair Colette Hunter said: “Unison’s recommendation is to strike.

“Industrial action is always the last resort. But the revised offer of 3.2% puts absolutely no more money on the table.

“Cosla refuses to call on the Scottish government to sit round the table with unions and councils to discuss local government funding. But this situation cannot continue.”

More than 21,000 workers represented by Unison took three days of strike action last September, resulting in the closure of 75% of Scotland’s schools.

Train drivers

Hundreds of ScotRail workers could walk out in September unless they receive a “credible” pay offer.

Unite, which represents more than 300 workers at the publicly-owned railway operator, became the latest union to announce a strike ballot for its ScotRail workers in a dispute over pay.

It says its members, who include train cleaners, engineers, ticket agents, hospitality assistants and conductors, are yet to receive a formal and fair pay offer from the employer.

Unite’s ballot opened on Wednesday and runs until August 20.

The Aslef and RMT unions recently announced they will also be balloting their ScotRail staff on strike action.

University staff

The Robert Gordon University (RGU) branch of the EIS University Lecturers’ Association (EIS-ULA) has opened a consultative ballot in response to cutbacks, including lecturers’ jobs, at the university, following a reported £11.1m recurrent deficit for the 2023/24 academic year.

Members are being asked in a consultative ballot if they are willing to take industrial action up to and including strike action in defence of jobs as the university seeks to reach an £18m savings target with £10.5m in staff savings.

The consultative ballot runs until August 2022.