Strikes are set to hit Perth and Kinross schools and early years centre for two weeks later this month.
Local government union UNISON is targeting First Minister John Swinney’s Perthshire North constituency to emphasise the importance of finding a settlement to a pay dispute affecting all council staff in Scotland.
UNISON has notified PKC that schools and early years centres will close for two weeks from Monday October 21.
Long-term action on the first minister’s constituency, UNISON states, should bring home to him the importance of finding a fair settlement to the dispute.
Council workers are angry their pay offer is not in line with other public service workers, many of whom have been offered 5.5% pay rises, UNISON added.
The strikes will start immediately after the two-week October school holiday, meaning schools could be shut for a full month.
UNISON Perth and Kinross branch secretary Stuart Hope said: “Taking action like this is the last thing school and early years staff want to do.
“Employees are taking this first stand on behalf of all local government workers because they’ve seen a decade of pay cuts and they see other sectors being offered deals of greater value.
“A fair pay deal should have been in place from April 1, but six months later it’s still not been agreed.
“Instead, the employer has imposed a wage rise rejected by a majority of the workers UNISON represents.
“Yet again local government staff are being forced to strike to simply get fair pay.
“The Scottish Government needs to understand that council staff need more than platitudes. Ministers must tackle the severe decline in local government funding and start to value councils and their dedicated workforce as they do other areas of public services.
“John Swinney is invited to join one of the picket lines to hear how undervalued council staff in his constituency feel.”
A PKC spokesperson said: “We have received notification from UNISON about intended industrial action by non-teaching staff in our schools as part of a national dispute over pay.
“We are currently assessing how this will impact our schools. Our intention is to minimise the impact on our children, parents and carers as much as possible and will be issuing further information as soon as possible.”
Scottish Government Finance and Local Government Secretary Shona Robison said: “While this government respects workers’ rights, no one’s interests will be served by industrial action which will disrupt children and young people attending schools and nurseries in Perth and Kinross.
“The pay offer is better than that made to local government workers in the rest of the UK and will see the lowest paid workers, including UNISON members, receive a 5.63% pay increase.
“I hope that UNISON members recognise the strength of this offer which has already been accepted by GMB and Unite.”
Councils where UNISON has a mandate for strike action in waste, recycling and street cleaning are: Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian, plus Cireco, an arms-length waste management specialist company.
Councils where UNISON has mandates in schools and early years are: Perth and Kinross; Shetland; Orkney; East Renfrewshire; and Angus.