Schools set to close in fresh wave of walkouts
SCOTLAND is braced for more strike action which could see waste pile up further, mail go undelivered and schools close by the middle of next week.
Edinburgh’s bin strikes, which have sparked major public health concerns at the height of the city’s Festival Fringe, are set to continue until tomorrow.
Refuse workers taking strike action in 14 councils will take another eight days’ action from September 6 to 13 if a breakthrough is not made in talks between the Unite, Unison and GMB unions and the Scottish Government and council umbrella body Cosla.
Workers at a further five councils are poised to join the latest strikes.
On September 6, 7 and 8, Unite members who work as administrative staff, cleaners, caterers and classroom assistants will walk out of schools in East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, forcing primary schools and nurseries to close.
The same action will be taken on September 7, 8 and 9 by school workers across the Angus Council, Dundee City and Tayside council areas.
Unite said the action was necessary as ‘Cosla and the Scottish Government have dithered and bickered with each other while our members have faced a cost of living crisis’.
Unite estimates that more than 2,000 members will be involved in the targeted strike action involving education and waste services throughout Scotland.
Royal Mail postal workers who are members of the Communications Workers Union are also set to resume their strike over pay, which is planned to continue on September 8 and 9.
The union said management imposed a 2 per cent pay rise on employees despite being classified as key workers during the pandemic.
A CWU spokesman said: ‘In an economic climate where inflation looks set to soar to 18 per cent by January, the imposition will lead to a dramatic reduction in living standards.’
Last week the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teaching union, announced its intention to ballot members on industrial action.
A meeting of its salary committee had rejected a 5 per cent pay offer from Cosla.
Teachers have asked for a 10 per cent increase for the 2022/23 school year which the EIS calls ‘fair’ in light of rising inflation.
The ballot will ask members if they are prepared to support industrial action in pursuit of an improved pay settlement. The ballot arrangements will be confirmed by the EIS Executive Committee this week.
Meanwhile, trade unions have threatened to co-ordinate strike action, sparking fears of an autumn of chaos. The UK could be brought to a standstill as striking workers step up their protest at the spiralling cost of living and pile pressure on the incoming prime minister.
Motions submitted to the Trades Union Congress have demanded the nation’s largest unions collaborate to ‘most effectively harness [their] power to win’.
Unison’s motion says joint action will pile pressure on the Government to agree to its demands including pay increases in line with inflation – which stands at 10.1 per cent – and a £15 an hour minimum wage.
A TUC spokesman said: ‘This Government is putting together a plan to stop workers from protecting their pay and conditions – and working people are on the brink.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘It is not fair or right to impose disruption on the British public and businesses, and the country should not be held to ransom.’
‘Working people are on the brink’