Workers' Liberty

Nursery nurses in Scotland have just completed a fresh found of strike action. Between 6-10 October nurseries were closed in Edinburgh and the Lothians, Stirling, Inverclyde, the Highlands, Orkney and Moray.


5,000 local authority nursery nurses, members of UNISON, are pursuing a pay claim for £18,500. The first strike action began in May.



Unison rep Joe Di Paola said: "Our members are being driven into more and more industrial action by an employer that neither knows nor cares about the service they provide."



The local authority umbrella group COSLA has said its pay offer would guarantee a top salary of £18,000-but the union says many of its members would end up out of pocket under the deal.



Carol Ball, of Unison's nursery nurses working party, said: "For the largest group of nurses-those who work to deliver school services, the 'offer' means a reduction of 8p an hour. Less per hour than what they would get by simply increasing their hours at the current rate. No wonder nursery nurses are not happy with it."

• More info: www.unison-scotland.org.uk/localgovt/nurserynurse

• Donations (cheques payable to "Unison nursery nurses campaign") to Unison nursery nurses campaign, c/o Joe Di Paola, Douglas House, 60 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3UQ.