SCHOOL support staff in Scotland have voted to accept a pay offer, bringing industrial action to an end.
Unison members working in Scotland’s schools voted to accept an improved offer after they took strike action last month.
Across all of Scotland’s councils, support staff including pupil support assistants, catering and cleaning staff voted for the deal by a margin of 69.6%.
READ MORE: BBC apologises after 'editing errors' in Gaza report
The accepted offer has various improvements on previous rejected offers including a timetable for all local government staff to be paid a minimum of £15 per hour by 2026 and the full deal being backdated to April 2023 rather than some uplifts only happening in January 2024.
Unison Scotland’s head of local government, Johanna Baxter (below) said: “This deal is long overdue and was hard fought for by Unison members.
“Cosla urgently need to review the bargaining process to ensure that future pay negotiations progress quickly and with as little disruption as possible.”
"The improvements secured by Unison in these negotiations help address low pay and support those in the squeezed middle. Delivering a minimum rate of pay of £15 per hour for all local government workers by April 2026 will go a long way to tackling low pay and will make a real difference to people’s lives.
"Backdating the full offer to April 1, 2023 means those on very modest incomes are protected during the cost of living crisis too.
"It was Unison members who stood on picket lines to fight for this improved deal. It was Unison negotiators who brokered it. And it will be Unison that fights to ensure that all of the commitments it contains are delivered in full."
Mark Ferguson, chair of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, said the £15 per hour deal is "ground-breaking" and will see "significant increases" for the lowest paid over the next three years.
READ MORE: David Cameron slammed for Commons absence amid Gaza question
He said: "Where previous offers only offered talks about the possibility of this being achieved, the improvements Unison secured make sure it becomes a reality.
"This has been a long-standing Unison objective to help those on the very lowest pay and we will work hard with Cosla on the practicalities of delivering it.
"I want to thank Unison members for taking action that has helped secure this improved deal. Our membership has been growing at unprecedented rates over the past few months which demonstrates that workers know Unison will deliver for them.”
Councillor Katie Hagmann, Cosla's resources spokesperson, said: “It is great to finally get this deal over the line, I am pleased with today’s news that Unison members have joined their GMB and Unite colleagues in voting to accept the strong offer from Cosla.
"Throughout this challenging process, we have listened carefully to our trade unions, met all their asks, and worked with the Scottish Government to put an incredibly strong half-a-billion pound pay package forward.
"For the sake of everyone in our local government workforce, who are delivering essential front-line services, I am pleased that the pay offer has now been accepted by all of our trade union colleagues.”
While 69.64% of Unison members backed the deal, 30.36% voted to reject it, on a turnout of 59.73%.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel