Moray branch of UNISON happy with support for school strike
THE branch secretary of Moray's largest union say she's delighted by the support seen so far during this week's school strike.
Just over half of Moray's 52 secondary and primary schools are closed due to the three-day strike which began on Tuesday and is set to finish tomorrow.
This follows a walkout by admin staff, classroom assistants, janitors, cleaners, caterers and nursery workers belonging to UNISON.
Karen Donaldson from UNISON Moray said: "We organised a gathering in Fochabers on Tuesday for those taking part in the strike.
"It was really well attended and we're really pleased about that."
The dispute is about pay, but not just for school staff.
UNISON is seeking a £15/hour deal for other lower-paid council workers such as refuse collectors and road workers.
Its members voted last month to reject an offer made by Cosla, the body that represents Scotland's 32 councils.
Cosla came back with a revised deal last week.
However Mrs Donaldson stated that its terms were neither clear nor a definite improvement on what had been offered before.
She said: "Some our members might have been left even worse off.
"The councils have had long enough to get around the table and sort this out.
"We've been pushing this issue for months, but it's only since we got the mandate for the strike that there's been any response at all."
Another vote is due to be held on the updated pay deal either next week or at the end of this.
UNISON is recommending that its members reject it.
Some of those on strike this week also took part in a protest outside Moray Council headquarters in May.
This saw a group of primary school admin staff and nursery workers make their views known about possible proposals from the council to cut their hours and downgrade some roles.
Mrs Donaldson fears the potential measures could hit some members of staff by as much as £400/month.
A review was carried out by the local authority about whether the changes should be implemented in Moray's primaries and nurseries.
This was originally supposed to report its findings to the council first on August 23, and then on September 19. The date for them to be made public has since been put back again.
