No more money available for local government pay, says Robison

Scotland’s Finance Secretary has said determination “simply is nary much money” to money wage deals for section authorities workers amid strikes which person closed schools successful John Swinney’s constituency.

Trade national Unison called the enactment targeting the First Minister’s spot implicit the adjacent 2 weeks aft members moving successful non-teaching roles successful schools rejected a wage connection from section authorization assemblage Cosla.

The woody would person accrued wage by 67p an hr oregon 3.6%, whichever was higher, and was accepted by GMB and Unite, and assembly leaders voted to enforce the summation connected staff.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said she takes the onslaught “incredibly seriously” due to the fact that of the interaction it is having connected parents and children, but said the concern enactment is “in no-one’s interests”.

She told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “I would surely promote dialog to proceed betwixt Cosla and Unison.

“A solution has to beryllium found, but that cannot beryllium a solution based connected much wealth this year, due to the fact that determination simply is nary much wealth disposable this year.

“So the solution, I think, is truly looking guardant to the adjacent twelvemonth and beyond, and the imaginable for multi-year deals betwixt section authorities and their unions.

“But I person to beryllium clear, the effect of this concern enactment and each of the disruption volition not beryllium much money, due to the fact that determination simply is none.”

Ms Robison said “difficult decisions” had to beryllium taken to supply the wealth that is already connected the table.

She said: “I went to Parliament to acceptable retired the hard decisions that we person had to instrumentality successful bid to marque definite that we are capable to enactment this wage deal, £78 cardinal that we’ve provided. Local authorities has worked hard to supply resources arsenic well.”

Our members ... consciousness undervalued and they consciousness underpaid. They merit amended deals. They merit amended wage and they merit to beryllium much valued by the Scottish Government

Stuart Hope, Unison

In a connection published connected its website, Perth and Kinross Council said each superior schools, nurseries, intensive enactment settings and 2 secondary schools volition beryllium closed connected Monday.

Stuart Hope, Unison subdivision caput successful Perth and Kinross, said it was a “very hard decision” to adjacent the schools but that members consciousness they person had enough.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: “Our members are benignant of speaking successful unit these adjacent mates of weeks to accidental that they consciousness undervalued and they consciousness underpaid.”

He added: “They merit amended deals. They merit amended wage and they merit to beryllium much valued by the Scottish Government.”

He besides warned that onslaught enactment could dispersed to each assembly successful Scotland if a solution is not reached.

“We person 17 different mandates successful spot crossed Scotland, past besides mentation nether mode for an all-member ballot,” helium said.

“So that would beryllium each assembly worker, section authorities assembly idiosyncratic and Unison subordinate crossed Scotland balloted for onslaught action.

“If that’s a palmy ballot, past we could beryllium looking astatine onslaught enactment and concern enactment successful each country of each assembly successful Scotland.”

He said that aft the existent 2 weeks of concern enactment are retired of the mode the national volition determine connected the adjacent steps.

Perth and Kinross Council was incapable to transportation retired hazard assessments of superior schools and nurseries owed to the October holidays, meaning facilities could not unfastened immediately.

The assembly said schools could unfastened aboriginal this week, but the concern is apt to stay “fluid” for the duration of the action, and “may alteration for idiosyncratic schools connected a day-to-day basis”.

It said distant learning volition beryllium provided erstwhile schools are closed to pupils due to the fact that teachers are not taking portion successful the concern action.

The First Minister has antecedently described the targeting of his spot arsenic “unacceptable” and said determination is “no justification” for it.

He added determination is nary much wealth for the Scottish Government to manus section authorities to money a amended deal.