Workers across Scotland are protesting

Council-run facilities in the Lothians and Borders were being targeted in a further 48 hours of action which began on Wednesday.

The action is part of a rolling programme which will see different parts of Scotland targeted with two-day strikes by Unison members.

Striking nursery nurses also plan to lobby the local government organisation Cosla in Edinburgh on Thursday.

Staff in Scotland's 5,000 council-run nurseries have been demanding more pay after the breakdown of talks with employers.

Union members voted to take industrial action following a long-running campaign for a review and reassessment of their pay.

Nursery nurses, who are paid about �13,000 a year, want an increase of about �4,000 a year to reflect the extra duties they say they have had to undertake.

Step up pressure

Unison is also boycotting these duties, which it claims have been added to staff's responsibilities since the last pay review 15 years ago.

The union claims its action so far has been a success as it looks to step up pressure on councils.

Parts of the west coast and Glasgow were targeted on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, with the action spreading to the east on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.