Children across Scotland are missing lessons as school support staff walk out after their union rejected a pay offer.

Unison has a mandate to strike across 24 council areas on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Striking workers from Unison have picketed outside Avenue End Primary in Glasgow's East End on Tuesday.

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

The dispute is over a revised pay offer from umbrella body the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) for a pay increase for janitors, cleaners, and support workers, who are some of the lowest-paid council employees.

GMB Scotland and Unite have suspended strikes while they consider it.

A new offer represents a minimum wage increase of £2,006 for those on the Scottish Government’s living wage and a minimum increase of £1,929 for workers who are earning above the living wage.

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

The living wage of £10.85 will rise to £11.89 under the new offer, equivalent to a 9.6% increase – but Unison has said the revised pay offer remains a “real terms pay cut” and “below the rate of inflation”.

But Unison rejected the offer as “an increase of only 0.5% in-year” for the majority of staff.

Glasgow City Council said high schools will be open for S4-S6 pupils only on Tuesday, with a reassessment planned that day on whether any more schools and nurseries can open for the following two days.

Glasgow Times: Glasgow Times:

First Minister Humza Yousaf urged for strikes to be reconsidered and said he believed it “is a very good offer indeed”.

Chair of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, Mark Ferguson, said: “The offer is still below the rate of inflation meaning that local government workers are being asked to take a real-terms pay cut during a cost-of-living crisis.”

Cosla said the “pay package not only compares well to other sectors but recognises the cost-of-living pressures on our workforce which would mean the lowest paid would see an in-year uplift of over £2,000, or just under 10%”.

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

A spokesperson for Cosla said: “This is a very strong offer that equates to 10% or £2,006 for the lowest paid at the request of the trade unions.

“Throughout these negotiations, we have met every request of our trade union colleagues.”