Renfrewshire school staff could take union action this month if plans to renovate janitorial, cleaning and catering services are not reversed.

The GMB union is currently voting with its members on whether or not they would be willing to cut tools for what they describe as a “botched” program to revamp essential services in local schools.

The ballot is widely supported by their fellow teachers.

The Renfrewshire Council confirmed earlier this year that cleaners, cooks and janitors would be stripped of their titles and called “facilities officers” in a move that would require them to work in all three departments.

Many have also been transferred to new schools and given new shifts, fearing that some are now in a worse financial situation.

But GMB says the new approach just doesn’t work, with the department claiming to be so understaffed that its employees are exhausted.

Its members are currently being consulted on participation in non-strike industrial action.

This could see a blanket ban on overtime, slowdowns, where staff work at a more leisurely pace, and potential work stoppages during peak hours.

GMB organizer Kirsten Muat said: “As people who do the work every day, the Renfrewshire Council should listen to its workers when they say the remodeling isn’t working, but they are not. and that is why members did run an advisory ballot.

“The remodeling left workers overworked and stressed.

“After all these workers have done for the Renfrewshire Council over the past year in schools, it is shocking that the Renfrewshire Council is treating them like this.

“This is why we are asking the Renfrewshire Council to draw a line under their botched remodel and allow members to return to their old work schedules and schools. “

The workers’ struggle for change was supported by their fellow teachers and the Educational Institute of Scotland.

Kenny Fella, Renfrewshire secretary of EIS and who represents 1,700 teachers in the local authority area, wrote to councilors to raise awareness of key issues.

Expressing “deep concern” about changes in working conditions for staff, Fella said schools depend heavily on the proper functioning of its cleaning, catering and janitorial services.

He said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, GMB staff have been a vital resource in the campaign to restore the supply of normal education in Renfrewshire.

“Any potential industrial action during this period would have a direct impact on the health and safety of staff and students in schools and on the safety of the opening of schools.

“This is at a time when the emphasis is on ensuring a safe school environment to support the restoration of education.

“EIS Renfrewshire would like to express its solidarity with our GMB union colleagues in the education sector who are in conflict with the Renfrewshire Council over the changes to their working conditions.

This week, GMB members are also meeting with local MSPs Neil Bibby, Katy Clark and Paul O’Kane to voice their concerns.

A spokesperson for the Renfrewshire Council said: ‘We will always listen to concerns expressed by staff and unions and seek to resolve them in a meaningful way.
emergency.

“The modernized and modernized facilities management service has been well received by the vast majority of our staff, providing them with better career advancement opportunities, higher salaries and continuing education.

“Its implementation follows detailed work with our staff and unions over a long period of time and all unions, including GMB, have supported these proposals. “

He added, “We are committed to ensuring that staff are happy, supported and fully trained to fulfill their roles as we strive to make our services the best they can be. “