WORKERS have been holding a mass protest and lobby outside council offices in East Dunbartonshire as a four-day strike which forms part of a "summer of discontent" has shut all schools and nurseries
The dispute over terms and conditions cuts including slashing staff holidays has meant some end of term church services cancelled and end of year events and balls postponed including end of primary school P7 celebrations.
Some parents have complained about the timing of the strike as they make urgent child care arrangements.
Unfortunately, today’s strike action by East Dunbartonshire Council staff means this evening’s East Dunbartonshire ACE Youth Group at St Matthew’s Primary, Bishopbriggs has had to be cancelled. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this will cause. pic.twitter.com/KWzLydvgQD
— ENABLE Scotland (@ENABLEScotland) June 21, 2018
Protesters have been gathering at East Dunbartonshire Council headquarters where there is a meeting of the full council on the first day of four 24-hour strikes.
Members of the Unison, Unite and GMB trade unions will strike on June 21, 22, 25 and 26 over proposed cuts to workers’ terms and conditions.
That would mean three days cut from holiday entitlement; scrapping of enhanced overtime rates; reducing the time when unsocial hours payments apply and slashing the payments to employees who volunteer for redundancy.
The strike has meant that the community hubs at Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch and Lennoxtown would be closed along with the council's customer contact centre.
All East Dunbartonshire libraries will be closed on strike days along with the Auld Kirk Museum and Lillie Art Gallery.
Green waste collections have been suspended from June 21 through to the morning of June 29.
Food waste bins and dry recycling will be collected on the next scheduled collection day after the industrial action.
East Dunbartonshire Council said: “In an effort to avoid strike action, the council made a further offer to the trades unions to allow further time for negotiation on the areas being identified as of most concern.
“To enable those further negotiations the strike would need to be suspended.”
Simon Macfarlane, UNISON’s regional organiser, said: “There has been an overwhelming response today from UNISON members.
“We had hoped that the council would see sense and we continued talking in good faith.
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