Scottish SPCA staff take strike action on Bonfire Night amid ongoing pay dispute

Scottish SPCA workers will walk out for 24 hours on Bonfire Night amid an ongoing dispute over pay.

Unite the Union members backed strike action after rejecting a two-year pay offer, which the union says amounts to a real-terms pay cut.

The 24-hour walkout will take place on Wednesday after talks with Scottish SPCA bosses broke down.

The union said the 2025 offer amounts on average to around 1.6%, while a tabled one-off payment would be worth around 2%. In 2026, the union said a 2% offer was tabled.

Unite said its members are also raising wider concerns about increased workloads and understaffing at the SSPCA, which it said are having an impact on staff morale.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Unite’s members simply have no other option but to take a stand against years of chronic low pay. The SSPCA workers are dedicated to their jobs but they deserve a fair pay deal not a real terms pay cut which forces them further into poverty.”

“We will support our members all the way in their fight to secure better jobs, pay and conditions at the SSPCA.”

Billy Thomson, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite’s members at the SSPCA have to take this action because their employer will not reward them with a decent pay rise. The SSPCA seem to have no issue giving their new chief executive a bumper pay award while also sitting on tens of millions in reserves.

“The workers feel utterly let down and undervalued by their employer. We would urge the SSPCA to use this time before strike action to get back round the table and make an improved offer. It’s up to them whether they want this action to go ahead.”

In a statement, the SPCA said it had “engaged openly and constructively throughout the consultation process” and had made a pay offer it believes is “fair, responsible and reflective of the financial pressures the Scottish SPCA is currently managing.”

The charity emphasised that animal welfare remains its “number one priority,” adding that its helpline will stay open and plans are in place to ensure essential services continue during the strike period.

“We are deeply grateful for the continued support in our vision to make Scotland the best place in the world for an animal to call home,” the statement said.

It comes as the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) renewed its call for a national ban on the public sale of fireworks ahead of Bonfire Night, saying “loud and unpredictable” pyrotechnics continue to cause distress to animals and people.