Strike forces closure of county's schools

Elaine Birse 1594 - 1594 • Published 20 Aug 2008 12:30 0 Comments

SCHOOLS and nurseries across Clackmannanshire were closed on Wednesday as council workers staged a 24-hour strike.

Only S5 and S6 pupils who still had to choose their subjects were allowed to attend as thousands of primary and secondary aged children had the day off.

Pupils at Tulliallan Primary, Kincardine, and Dunfermline High School also had an extra day"s holiday.

The decision to stage the national strike - coming two days after the start of the autumn term - was made by members of the Unison, Unite and GMB unions over a three-year below inflation pay increase proposed by all Scottish local authorities.

As the Advertiser went to press around 200,000 local authority staff across Scotland were expected to take part in the action, and council services across the Wee County were expected to be severely disrupted.

Household waste (green bin) and commercial waste was not to be collected, but blue box recycling from homes was due to be picked up as usual.

Callers to the council contact centre and other telephone helplines were treated to a recorded message with an emergency contact in case of life threatening situations.

Alloa Centre Day Care, Whins Centre Day Care and the Supported Employment Service were also shut.

Other council services affected by the national industrial action included housing, local authority mental health services, social work and Community Action Points (CAPs).

Full information on the services affected was available on the Clackmannanshire Council website.

The strike was called after Scotland"s local council employers offered a 2.5 per cent pay rise each year for the years 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11.

The offer is far below the UK"s annual rate of inflation which rose to 4.4 per cent in July, its highest level since 1997.

Last week Clackmannanshire Council chief executive Dave Jones expressed his disappointment that union members had voted to stage the protest.

He said the deal was the 'best offer' councils could afford and in line with the settlement from the Scottish Government.

Council leader Janet Cadenhead agreed that the council could not afford a bigger settlement but told the Advertiser she would not cross a picket line.

Speaking before the strike, Pam Robertson, UNISON local branch secretary said, 'Members are angry that the employers want to lock them into 2.5 per cent increases for the next three years, while inflation is still rising and is set to continue.

'The employers locally have said that they can"t afford a better rise. But they agreed that they didn"t need to raise council tax, and they have saved £3.448m over the last year in efficiency savings - efficiencies that have been delivered by our members.

'They also have £0.951m in unallocated reserves. It is time for members to share in the savings that they have made.'

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This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 20 Aug 08

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