Strike causes council chaos

Aug 22 2008 by Gregor White

COUNCIL services across the Stirling area ground to a halt on Wednesday as workers went on a one-day strike over pay.

Cleaners, catering staff and refuse collectors were among those taking part in the stoppage.

Although teachers were not involved, the absence of a large number of school support staff saw five primary schools closed: Bannockburn, St Ninians, Cowie, Riverside and Cornton, as well as their associated nurseries and Bannockburn High School.

Castleview special needs school, in the Raploch Community campus in Stirling, was also closed for the day.

Workers walked out in protest at proposals from local government bosses to limit pay rises to 2.5 per cent a year for the next three years.

In the face of increasing inflation, union bosses said this simply was not enough and was, in effect, a pay cut.

Unison, Unite and the GMB union all claimed the strike had been well supported by their members.

One Stirling striker said they and their fellow workers were simply looking for a fair deal.

“We feel that we’ve done our bit in helping the council make a huge amount of savings over the past months and years and still we’re not getting to see any of the benefits of that,” they said.

“A 2.5 per cent pay rise just isn’t enough with the way prices are rising all over – especially when you take account of the fact the bosses are trying to tie it into us for three years.

“Things are bad enough at the moment. Who knows how bad they might be three years from now?”

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “It is time that Scotland’s employers took note of the strength of feeling amongst their staff and reopened their final offer for negotiation.

“The level of solidarity that I have seen going round the picket lines indicates that our members and their colleagues from the other unions are determined to win a better deal.

“Council staff in Scotland have delivered nearly £200 million worth of efficiency savings that councils should share with staff as well as with council tax payers.”

Speaking before the action a spokesperson for council employers’ body CoSLA said they were disappointed it was going ahead.

Michael Cook said: “We have been in talks over pay for months.

“We have made an offer in good faith which was in line with inflation when we made it and which was at the top of what councils could afford.

“The trade unions rejected it and balloted their members for strike action.

“We told them we could still talk but they went ahead anyway.”

Although the issues around pay were “difficult and complex”, he said, CoSLA would be looking for further talks with the unions to resolve the matter.