UNISON has warned that further industrial action for school staff is being planned, as it reveals it has again written to Cosla and the Scottish Government.

It comes after three days of strikes on September 26, 27, and 28.

Catering, cleaning, pupil support, administration and janitorial employees walked out in a dispute over pay this week.

Today, the union reported a surge in membership numbers as thousands of local government workers joined in the past week.

UNISON'S letter calls on Cosla to come clean over the details of its revised pay offer.

Cosla has implied the deal is mostly a flat-rate payment, but the reality is a complex percentage deal related to hours worked, says the union.

It is standard practice for the employer to publish amended pay scales alongside any pay offer, but this hasn’t happened for this latest revised offer, UNISON says.

They added that council staff need this vital information to help them decide whether to accept or reject the offer.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland’s head of local government, said: “The strength of feeling amongst UNISON school staff has been clear for all to see on picket lines across Scotland.

"There’s also been a surge in membership, which is testament to the strength of local government workers’ resolve to continue their fight for fair pay.

“The union will consult its council workers on the latest offer. But Cosla must come clean about how the offer will affect revised pay scales and clarify precisely where the money will come from.

“There’s considerable concern that channelling money from the Redress Scheme and Pupil Equity Funds will affect jobs and the services provided to vulnerable children.” 

Meanwhile, Mark Ferguson, UNISON Scotland chair of the local government committee, added: “For Cosla to tell council staff to ‘sign up now and we’ll tell you how much you’ll get later’ just adds insult to the injury of the ongoing wait for a pay deal that should have been in wage packets in April.

“Most council staff want to know ‘what does this offer mean for me?’, but if the pay scales aren’t published, it’s impossible to know.

“Cosla must explain. And if it has any confidence its offer is fair, it would be putting pay scales on billboards rather than keeping them secret.”