Mass school closures across Scotland as widespread strike dates confirmed in September

Schools across Scotland are set to shut as widespread strikes over three days this month are confirmed.

Thousands of janitors, cleaners, caterers, classroom assistants and administrative staff, will walk out in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Unison confirmed 21,000 members would strike from Tuesday, September 26, to Thursday, September 28, affecting 1,868 primary and secondary schools – 76% of all education settings in Scotland.

This was followed by Unite the union confirming its members would walk out in eleven councils on the same dates as part of coordinated action.

Members of the GMB, Unison and Unite unions most recently rejected an average pay increase of 5.5%.

On Wednesday, GMB announced it had suspended strikes planned for next week but is now coordinating action with the other unions with walk outs in ten councils.

A new pay offer is expected to be tabled by Scotland’s local council body COSLA next week.

“A real-terms pay cut in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis is a cut our members simply cannot afford,” said Unison Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter.

This is not a highly-paid workforce – three quarters of local government workers earn less than the average Scottish wage. All they want is to be paid fairly for the vital work they do supporting Scotland’s communities – COSLA and the Scottish Government need to get back round the table and work with us to deliver that.”

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Unison’s strike action will affect schools in 24 councils, while GMB and Unite’s will affect ten. A total of 26 of Scotland’s 32 councils will see disruption.

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