Council workers to be balloted on new pay offer amid threat of strikes
Unison Scotland said Cosla has offered local government workers 4% this year and 3.5% next year.
The union said it will recommend staff accept the offer.
Unison, which represents 80,000 workers across Scotland's 32 councils, began balloting members on strike action last month after local authority staff were offered a 3% pay rise.
The union said the ballot amounted to the biggest vote of its kind in years and was held after 92% of members indicated they would support industrial action.
Unison Scotland's head of local government, David O'Connor, said: 'The threat of possible strikes by council employees has forced Cosla back to the table.
'But it should not have taken the possibility of staff walkouts closing services to get Cosla and the Scottish Government to listen to the workforce.
'Local authority workers were due a pay rise in April. Despite the delay, this is a sensible offer.
'The union will be putting the new amount to council staff over next few weeks, recommending that they accept.'
Cosla has been approached for comment.
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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Pupil's shocking attack on teacher shows why SNP's guidance on school violence is a sick joke
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... For some reason, three stories about Scottish education have jammed themselves together in my mind and lodged there like a bad tune I can't get out of my head (say 'Sugar, Sugar'). The first is that story about the boy in Dundee who slammed his teacher's head onto a concrete floor, leaving her unconscious in a pool of blood. The second is the release of the Scottish Government's guidance on how teachers are supposed to deal, in 2025, with violence in schools. It's called 'Schools – fostering a positive, inclusive and safe environment: guidance'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now, call me brave but foolish, I have just spent an hour ploughing my way through its 47 pages, and, to be completely truthful, it's left me feeling a wee bit bilious, because as I read it I couldn't help but think of that poor woman in Dundee, lying on the floor covered in blood while the big lad who assaulted her sat at her desk saying she 'deserved it'. Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, seen visiting Madras College in St Andrews, needs to do more to ensure teachers and children alike are safe (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images Sorry for teacher and pupil In the 'ministerial foreword' of the new document, Jenny Gilruth, who was, let's remember, a teacher for a while before she gave that up for politics, says 'I have listened to teachers, support staff and teaching unions who have shared their experiences with me...' Odd, maybe, that parents and most importantly schoolchildren don't make the cut, but it's a real step forward for the SNP government to admit teachers might be worth listening to when schools are in trouble. I wonder if they listened to that teacher from Dundee. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad READ MORE: The tragedy of Scottish children who just disappear between primary and secondary Of course, being an old retired teacher myself, while my first horrified thoughts were with the teacher, I also felt sorry for the violent boy who assaulted her because, of course, he should never have been anywhere near a mainstream school. He has a very low IQ, is very neurodivergent and, most importantly, had been aggressive before. And you know, I don't expect he was learning very much at school and, at points, I doubt if the rest of his class did either, particularly the ones who were scared of him. Clichés, buzzwords and education-speak The bilious Scottish Government guidance does say that 'exclusion may be used as a last resort' but it suggests all sorts of other ways teachers can help disruptive or violent young people. Schools are advised to take 'a child-centred approach when determining an appropriate response'; of course, 'the appropriate response, even for the same child, may vary according to circumstances on the day'; teachers must always consider the underlying causes of the behaviour; and praise should be used as much as possible, praise that is specific and genuine ('Oh Donald, that was a fine right hook'). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Perhaps giving them a break from learning anything will help, or letting them out of class a couple of minutes early or, or… if it wasn't such an awful collection of clichés, buzzwords, education-speak and – at points – silliness, it would be funny. But of course it fits in with the current narrative in the relationship between the Scottish Government and the teaching profession, a narrative that eventually boils down to the government, bless them, telling teachers what they can do better. Everything will be 'excellent' Let us remember that the 'Big Idea' of the past few years has been the Scottish Centre for Teaching Excellence – things will get better in our schools if the teachers are more 'excellent', thus making them more equipped, one presumes, to pursue Scotland's 'Curriculum for Excellence'. Everything will just be 'excellent'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile, the incidence of violence continues to escalate, and this new guidance will, I sadly predict, make no difference at all to that. Young people are routinely absent from schools, some because they are too afraid to go. Teachers are off with stress and anxiety, including teachers who have taught brilliantly for decades in the past. 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It would then go on to say, among my own selection of appropriate consequences, that young people who assault teachers must be excluded (at least temporarily) from their school. Sigh. Of course that'll never happen. The huge monolith of the Scottish Educational Establishment, having created this 47-page wodge of words and worthiness, will move on. The third thing that happened in Scottish education was the announcement of further expenditure on Gaelic medium education and on the place of Scots in the classroom. I have no problem with this. Gaelic medium schools (there is to be a fourth in Glasgow) do very well, though one might ponder how their existence somewhat works against the comprehensive 'mainstreaming' principle. My grandparents and my parents all spoke the Doric and, even if Scots isn't really a language, there's no harm in young people knowing about it as a part of their cultural environment and heritage. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But it's a wee thing, and a further diversion about Scottish exceptionalism. Really, Jenny, focus on what matters. Get a move oan, sort it oot and dinnae waste mair time.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Do Scots really want to dance to Keir Starmer's military tune?
True then, it remains so today, as misery and austerity are imposed on many in Scotland and yet armaments, munitions and war are the priority for the UK. Devolution neither exempts us from participation in a genocide and the lurch to a war footing, nor, it should be said, would fiscal autonomy. It's why independence is more necessary than ever. The world's a far less safe place than a decade ago and the push for independence is has to be immediate not in the never-never. It's all fine and well to oppose a plebiscite election strategy but what's the alternative being proposed? Putting your faith in opinion polls but doing nothing to push for the cause just doesn't cut it. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has shown himself to be no more inclined to blink than his Conservative predecessors, nor is his policy platform any more benign. READ MORE: Palestine Action documentary brought forward as makers fear being criminalised As the situation at home and abroad worsens, putting independence at the centre of next May's Scottish Parliament election is essential. We're at a juncture for the social and economic future of our nation. Is it to be one where we prioritise childcare, a welfare state and an industrial economy built on existing and new industries, all possible with our renewables energy bounty? Or are we again to be the foot soldiers and junior partners in the expansion of an empire, albeit now an American, not British, one? And all as our industrial base is decimated and our spectacular natural environment trashed as our renewable energy is taken for a song. Research for Yes in the run-up to 2014 had shown the NHS and related aspects to be a touchstone and driver for independence support. 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Constraints apply to the influence of smaller nations but they are still able to support the drive for peace and call out what is self-evidently wrong, just as Ireland is doing, to its great credit. At the end of last week, my Alba Party colleague Neale Hanvey and I visited Ardersier. A generation ago, the gates of the McDermott oil fabrication works there clanged shut and it has lain empty ever since. Now it is being turned into a port for offshore turbine fabrication, both floating and fixed, rivalling Europe's best. Rather than blighting our country with more onshore wind farms, it's offshore where we should look, where the power produced is exponentially greater and environmental damage significantly less. That requires a strategy to ensure that turbines for Scottish offshore wind farms are purchased in Scotland, something shamefully lacking in onshore sites and even missed out in the ScotWind auction. But it also will require investment. 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The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
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Reid renews call for 'urgent' Scottish grooming gangs probe
Ms Reid said those demands for a Scottish probe led to a "barrage of abuse by SNP-linked figures". In a letter to John Swinney, seen by The Herald, Ms Reid asked the First Minister to use his authority as party leader to make it clear he would not "tolerate a defensive attitude that refuses to concede there is a problem in Scotland, or promote the idea of Scottish exceptionalism that asserts that somehow or other the misogyny that drives so much child sexual abuse does not exist here." READ MORE Baroness Casey's report accused authorities of turning a blind eye, failing to act on warnings, and treating victims as if they were responsible for their own exploitation. It highlighted how children—often in care or already at risk—were coerced, raped and trafficked by multiple men, and later ignored or disbelieved. A central finding was the state's refusal to properly examine the role of ethnicity. The review prompted the Prime Minister to announce an inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales, despite previously accusing those calling for one of jumping on a far right bandwagon. Baroness Louise Casey's damning report forced the PM to u-turn When asked at the time if he would consider a similar probe north of the Border, the First Minister told press the independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) was currently in the middle of an extensive review of child protection policy and had the powers necessary to investigate grooming. The government later pointed to the national multi-agency Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group. However, Ms Reid argues that neither are adequate. In her letter, she points out that the SCAI 'is restricted in which children it can consider', as its terms of reference are 'to investigate the nature and extent of abuse of children whilst in care in Scotland' before December 17, 2014. Meanwhile, the Strategic Group had only met once this year and, Ms Reid said, 'can hardly be thought of as a mechanism to get to the bottom of the scale of organised child sexual abuse in Scotland'. One of the criticisms made of Ms Reid was that she had voted against Tory proposals to launch a national inquiry into the scandal in January. In her letter to Mr Swinney, she said she had little choice as the motion was attached to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and voting for it would have seen that legislation abandoned. Ms Reid said there was also 'new evidence to support the need for an inquiry now, which did not exist even as recently as January.' She told Mr Swinney: "Generations of children – particularly girls and young women – have been betrayed by a state that dismissed their cries for help. "At one end of the betrayal process, misogyny and class prejudice against made it far too easy for the men (and it was mostly men) to refuse to listen. "At the other were the men who burrowed within state institutions with the specific purpose of finding children to abuse. "So far, we have directed all our efforts towards the latter group and ignored the culpability of the former. That must change." READ MORE Earlier this year, members of a Romanian grooming gang in Dundee were convicted of raping and sexually abusing 10 women, and forcing one into prostitution. Just weeks later, in Glasgow, seven members of one of Scotland's biggest child sex abuse rings were given life-long sentences after subjecting three victims under the age of 13 to horrific sexual abuse and violence in a drug den dubbed "the beastie house." A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Child sexual abuse and exploitation has a devastating impact, which is why we are taking action to ensure that children are protected from harm. "We have also established a national multi-agency Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, to consider all UK and Scottish work and make recommendations to Ministers accordingly." Ms Reid said there needs to be an 'urgent' probe (Image: PA) The spokesperson continued: 'The independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is undertaking an extensive review of child protection policy and practice in Scotland and will report with recommendations for further development in due course. "Ministers are considering the need to establish a further inquiry into child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland, should further information demonstrate a need for this. It is paramount that we maintain a resolute focus on ensuring that children and young people's needs and rights remain at the heart of this process. 'In the meantime, it is crucial to focus efforts and resource on working with partners across the system to support embedding and implementation of the National Child Protection Guidance and providing a trauma-informed response to victims.'
