Edinburgh primary and special schools to close due to school support staff strike

Unison union members due to walk out next Wednesday

The City of Edinburgh Council has confirmed that all primary and special schools in the city are due to close next Wednesday, November 8, due to industrial action by school support staff.

It comes after Unison members voted overwhelmingly to reject Cosla's latest pay offer which the union claims amounts to a "real-terms pay cut". Unite and the GMB suspended planned action after the deal, which represents a minimum increase of £2,006 for workers on the Scottish local government living wage and at least £1,929 for those above that rate, was accepted by their members. But 90 per cent of Unison members voted in a ballot to reject it.

With uncertainty over which union support staff at Edinburgh school belong to, the council has written to parents to inform them that all primary and special schools in the city will close next Wednesday. Secondary schools in Edinburgh will be fully or partially open on the strike day.

School support staff who are Unison members will walk out in Edinburgh next Wednesday, November 8.

In the letter sent out yesterday, Tuesday, October 31, Lorna French, service director for education and chief education officer, told parents about the council’s plans for the strike action. She said: “We have risk assessed the potential impacts with headteachers and heads of centre and regret that we will be unable to safely open many of our buildings to pupils.”

She added that secondary school headteachers will confirm the specific arrangements in their schools.

The letter also states that contingency learning will be available on the council website with updates from individual headteachers. And, free school meal payments for eligible families will be sent out by the council’s transactions team.

While, out of school care and lets will take place in certain schools, as advised directly by the provider and let holder, and updated on the council website.