Nursery nurses are on indefinite strike over pay

The deal is comparable with nine other councils in Scotland who have agreed local settlements.

Staff will receive a salary increase of nine percent and work a 35-hour week rather than the current 32� hours.

The public sector union, Unison, has urged striking nursery nurses to hold out for a national pay deal.

Nursery nurses in Scotland's other 22 council areas are on indefinite strike and have stated they will not return to work until a national deal has been agreed.

Offer rejected

The deal in Dumfries and Galloway will see 75 nurses return to work on Monday.

Unison and the local government umbrella group, Cosla, have been at loggerheads since 2003 over current pay and conditions.

At present nursery nurses earn about �13,000 a year but they want an extra �4,000 to reflect additional duties they have had to undertake.

Unison has criticised local deals because it fears they could lead to fluctuations in nursery nurses' salaries.

The union rejected an offer from Cosla which would enable fully-qualified nurses to earn �18,000 a year.

McConnell plea

Cosla has said local deals are the only way to resolve the current dispute.

On Thursday, the Scottish Socialist Party failed in a parliamentary vote to introduce a national pay settlement.

First Minister Jack McConnell said he would not intervene in the dispute and impose a deal.