Schools and nurseries in Perth and Kinross could close for two weeks due to strikes.
Industrial action from Unison will see school staff walk out on Monday October 21 due to a row over pay.
The union says focusing the action on First Minister John Swinney’s constituency will emphasise the importance of finding a “fair settlement” to end the dispute.
Unison says council workers across Scotland are angry their pay offer from negotiator Cosla is not in line with other public service workers – many of which have been offered a 5.5% rise.
It comes after members rejected an hourly increase of 67p or 3.6% – whichever is higher.
Local government staff ‘forced to strike’ for fair pay
The strikes will start straight after the October holidays, meaning schools could be shut for a month.
Unison Perth and Kinross branch secretary Stuart Hope said: “Taking action like this is the last thing school and early years staff want to do.
“Employees are taking this first stand on behalf of all local government workers because they’ve seen a decade of pay cuts and they see other sectors being offered deals of greater value.
“A fair pay deal should have been in place from April 1, but six months later it’s still not been agreed.
“Instead, the employer has imposed a wage rise rejected by a majority of the workers Unison represents.
“Yet again local government staff are being forced to strike to simply get fair pay.
“The Scottish Government needs to understand that council staff need more than platitudes.
“Ministers must tackle the severe decline in local government funding and start to value councils and their dedicated workforce as they do other areas of public services.
“John Swinney is invited to join one of the picket lines to hear how undervalued council staff in his constituency feel.”
Unison also has a schools and nurseries mandate in Angus, but a spokesperson said that at this stage it will only be staff in Perth and Kinross striking.
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said:: “We have received notification from Unison about intended industrial action by non-teaching staff in our schools as part of a national dispute over pay.
“We are currently assessing how this will impact our schools.
“Our intention is to minimise the impact on our children, parents and carers as much as possible and will be issuing further information as soon as possible.”
Cosla has been contacted for comment.
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