Unison threatens to escalate strike action beyond schools as Humza Yousaf insists pay offer is final

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A trade union has threatened to escalate strike action across Scotland in a long-running row over pay.Unison hit out at Cosla, which represents local authorities, after the Record revealed it had recommended imposing a final pay settlement on council staff.In a letter to town hall bosses, the union warned that a failure to reach a negotiated deal would be viewed as a "provocative action" and could lead to wider strikes.School support staff - including janitors and cleaners - are due to walk out for 24 hours on November 1 and November 8 across several council areas.The decision to escalate industrial action could impact other public services beyond classrooms.It comes as council bosses are on the verge of imposing a pay settlement on striking staff over the heads of trade unions.A vote will be taken at a meeting on Friday.Cosla has recommended that leaders vote in favour of a settlement as wage negotiations have been "exhausted" with Unison.The trade union has rejected a pay deal for its members who work as school support staff.In a letter seen by the Record, Unison's head of local government Johanna Baxter warned the Scottish Government of an imposed pay settlement."Unison's local government committee are already exploring escalation of the dispute and strike action by our members as a consequence of this decision," she said."Our existing strike mandate covers 75 per cent of Scotland’s schools.

You have already been notified that we already have a rolling programme of action, utilising this existing mandate, to the end of this year."We have not ruled out escalating the number of strike days and/or balloting additional groups of workers.