SCHOOL and nursery staff in nine Scottish council areas are to go on strike for three days next month in a dispute over pay.
Unison confirmed its members would strike on September 6, 7 and 8 after talks with council body Cosla failed to reach an agreement.
School and early years staff will join waste and recycling workers who have already started strike action leading to rubbish piling up on the streets of Edinburgh.
Unison said a total of 13,000 members would be involved.
The action will see schools, early years centres and nurseries disrupted in Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Orkney, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire.
READ MORE: Unions to meet with councils amid ongoing strike action
Unison represents workers including school catering staff, caretakers, cleaners, teaching assistants and early years practitioners.
Unions have been chasing more details about a 5% pay offer from councils, with the row seeing bin workers walk out on Thursday August 18, with refuse staff in around half of the country’s other councils due to join them on Wednesday.
Local authorities had initially proposed a 3.5% increase before then upping their offer to 5%, but unions have said there is not enough detail about how it will affect the lowest paid workers.
Unite and the GMB are also involved in the dispute, with representatives from Cosla and the unions due to hold further talks on Tuesday.
Unison Scotland’s head of local government, Johanna Baxter, said unions were working to find a solution.
READ MORE: Labour-led council to blame for overflowing Edinburgh rubbish, Angus Robertson says
However, she said many Unison members were struggling with fuel, food and household bills, and accused both Cosla and the Scottish Government of “dragging their heels” over a pay offer.
She continued: “So far we have only had an offer of talks – we have not had a pay offer.
“Until we can explain to Unison members how a pay offer might impact on them, council workers have been left with no choice but to strike.”
Local Government Minister Shona Robison said: "The increased pay offer to local government workers by councils is a welcome step forward and has been supported by the Scottish Government's commitment of an additional £140 million for council workers' pay on a recurring basis.
"As the employers, these pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities and unions - the Scottish Government has no formal role.
"However, throughout discussions we have sought to work collaboratively with COSLA while providing full transparency around our financial position."
She added that the Scottish Government was encouraging local councils and trade unions "to take forward meaningful dialogue".
Robison continued: "All areas of the public sector are having to make challenging savings to stay within budget.
"The UK Government has cut the Scottish Government's budget and not adjusted it for inflation, exacerbating the financial situationfor both government and councils.
"Nevertheless we sought to do what we can within the resources available to us to support a meaningful revised offer in the face of the cost of living emergency."
Cosla has approached for comment.
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