First Minister John Swinney has said he is “deeply disappointed” with strike action targeting his constituency after union members took their fight to his office.
Unison members staged a protest outside Mr Swinney’s constituency office in Blairgowrie, Perthshire on Thursday in a further escalation of its dispute over pay.
The union was the only one of three to reject an offer which gives non-teaching school staff a pay rise of 67p per hour or 3.6%, whichever is higher.
The deal has now been implemented for workers, but the union called a strike in the Perth and Kinross area, causing substantial disruption to primary schools and nurseries this week – including closing all facilities on Monday.
The First Minister – who declared earlier this week that discussions over pay in 2024-25 are “closed” – said in a statement he is “deeply disappointed” action has been taken which “unfairly targeted the parents and pupils of Perthshire North”.
He added: “Local government has put forward an offer that clearly meets the terms of what all three trade unions asked for. Indeed, two of those unions have now overwhelmingly voted to accept the pay deal.
“My constituents in Perthshire North are being singled out simply because their elected representative in the Scottish Parliament happens to also be the First Minister. That is completely unfair.
“My constituency office remains open as usual and my local team will be working hard to support the people of Perthshire North as normal.”
About 40 people including children were on the picket line outside his office on Thursday, holding Unison banners and signs calling for “Fair Pay Now”.
Pete Wishart – the SNP MP for Perth and Kinross-shire and a close ally of the First Minister – said the action is “completely unfair”.
He added: “I have been inundated by constituents who are appalled by this action and who are now having to stay off work in order to look after their children.
“There has been particular concern about the closure of the intensive support provision and Fairview School, which will be a having a disproportionate impact on children with additional support needs.
“I hope that Unison will now join their GMB and Unite colleagues and accept this above-inflation pay deal in order to end these unnecessary strikes as quickly as possible.”
Unison Perth and Kinross branch secretary Stuart Hope insisted the First Minister can end the dispute by providing further cash for councils to fund workers’ pay – despite Mr Swinney having already declared there is no more money available.
Mr Hope said: “John Swinney is the one who can end this dispute as most council funding comes from the Scottish Government.
“Education staff do not want to close schools. They all love their jobs and would prefer to be supporting children.
“The way to solve this is for Cosla, the Scottish Government and the union to sit down in the same room and talk.
“Staff need to be valued and treated equally to other public sector workers with the same level of investment.”
Unison members hand-delivered a letter to Mr Swinney’s office inviting him to a rally in Perth next week.
Mr Hope urged the Scottish Government to take part in any future talks.
He said: “The option they have is crystal clear, they can get round the table with us and have these discussions.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Shona Robison, has made mention of negotiations around future deals and things like this but these negotiations can only happen with the Scottish Government at the table and, at the minute, they just keep deflecting to Cosla and that’s not acceptable.”
He said preparations are underway for a ballot of all local government members which could lead to industrial action around the country if it is successful.
A spokesperson for local government body Cosla said: “We are disappointed that Unison has taken industrial action targeted at children and young people, including the most vulnerable in special needs settings.
“Industrial action is in nobody’s interests and we urge Unison to reconsider our strong offer, which would mean more than half of our workers receive an uplift of 4.27% or better.”
They said the pay award met the “collective requests of Unison and our other two unions”, adding council leaders had recently agreed to implement it so employees receive the rise “without further delay”.
However Cosla said: “Implementation of the pay award does not mean that discussions will end, and Cosla remains fully committed to the negotiation process with all three trade unions.
“We have been actively seeking to arrange formal meetings and contact has been maintained between Cosla and union officials as we seek to understand Unison’s aspirations for an agreed settlement within the funding envelope available.”
