FIFE pupils could be affected by more school closures after Unison warned that further industrial action is being planned.

The union has written to council employers’ organisation Cosla and the Scottish Government after schools across the Kingdom closed for three days last week as part of an ongoing dispute involving staff.

The letter calls on Cosla to "come clean" over the details of its revised pay offer.

Unison Scotland’s head of local government, Johanna Baxter, said: “The strength of feeling amongst Unison school staff has been clear for all to see on picket lines across Scotland.

"There’s also been a surge in membership, which is testament to the strength of local government workers’ resolve to continue their fight for fair pay.

READ MORE: Strike action sees closure of schools across Kingdom

“The union will consult its council workers on the latest offer. But Cosla must come clean about how the offer will affect revised pay scales and clarify precisely where the money will come from.

“There’s considerable concern that channelling money from the Redress Scheme and Pupil Equity Funds will affect jobs and the services provided to vulnerable children.”

School support staff – janitors, cleaners, and support workers – in 24 council areas walked out for three days last week after a late bid by Cosla to resolve the dispute, with an improved pay offer, failed.

Unison Scotland chair of the local government committee, Mark Ferguson, added: “For Cosla to tell council staff to ‘sign up now and we’ll tell you how much you’ll get later’ just adds insult to the injury of the ongoing wait for a pay deal that should have been in wage packets in April.

“Most council staff want to know ‘what does this offer mean for me?’, but if the pay scales aren’t published, it’s impossible to know.

READ MORE: New school term set to be disrupted by strike action

“Cosla must explain. And if it has any confidence its offer is fair, it would be putting pay scales on billboards rather than keeping them secret.”

Both the GMB Scotland and Unite unions have suspended their industrial action to ballot their members following the fresh offer.

Cosla's resources spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann, said she was "extremely disappointed" with the rejection of the offer from Unison.

“We have met every ask of our trade union colleagues throughout these negotiations and this best and final offer was made on the basis that strikes would be suspended," she said.

“We absolutely value all our local government workforce and throughout these negotiations Council leaders have re-iterated the value we place on the workforce and the work that they do.

“It must be reiterated that we are talking about a pay package worth over £445 million, specifically targeted at the lower end of our workforce.

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

"This would mean that a pupil support assistant currently earning £22,000 would receive a £2,006 pay increase and a new salary of £24,000. This is an additional £748 from the offer in April.”