All school strikes in Scotland have been suspended while local government union UNISON ballots its members on the latest pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
A rolling programme of strikes which has affected schools across the country, including Arran, has been halted after UNISON said it has negotiated a ground-breaking commitment which should deliver above inflation increases for the lowest paid workers for at least the next three years.
UNISON’S Scotland’s head of local government Johanna Baxter said: “Over the past few months, from the employer’s original offer to today, the action of UNISON members has secured an additional £100m into the pockets of local government workers. This includes an additional £17.2m secured in the last couple of weeks.
“The improvements put forward today help address low pay and support those in the squeezed middle. The commitment to deliver 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 across the sector.
“Backdating the full offer to April this year will see an improvement for four in 10 local government workers.
“It was UNISON members who stood on picket lines to fight for a better deal. It was UNISON negotiators who brokered this deal. And it will be UNISON members who determine whether it gets accepted.”
UNISON, the largest union in local government, represents more than 92,000 members and is recommending members accept the latest pay offer which it will be putting to them over the next few weeks.