Nursery World - 'Share funding with nursery nurses'

Local councils in Scotland should pay nursery nurses a fairer wage now that they have been given a 382m funding boost from the Scottish Executive, says the public sector union Unison. A Unison spokesman said that although the union was demanding a pay rise of about 40 per cent for 5,000 nursery nurses, because the numbers involved were relatively small they could be accommodated within the councils'

A Unison spokesman said that although the union was demanding a pay rise of about 40 per cent for 5,000 nursery nurses, because the numbers involved were relatively small they could be accommodated within the councils'

increased budget. Since last autumn, Unison nursery nurse members have been striking for higher pay and a better career structure.

Last month the Scottish Parliament allocated 7.67bn to local government spending for the financial year 2004/2005, representing an increase of 5.2 per cent. However, because the Department of Work and Pensions will be taking over local authorities' responsibilities for funding housing and council tax benefits, the effective increase was actually 467m, or 6.5 per cent.

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