Shelly McHugh, 25, had actually just prepared to nip to the Forge Shopping Centre in Glasgow for some messages when child Liam, 6, encouraged her they required a hamster.
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And the charming child’s legendary ‘strike day’ on January 23 didn’t end there as he likewise got some other deals with.
In a humorous TikTok tirade, Shelly (@97shelxx) said: “See whoever chose they were going to strike today, thanks quite.
“It’s simply cost me £35 in Home Bargains, a fiver for those Lucky Charms and I’ve ended up with a dwarf hamster so thank you, cheers.”
She added: “Worst part is I got absolutely f*** all that I needed to get.”
Jimmy the hamster cost Shelly £45 in total, including its food and cage. Liam also went home with board game Frustration, his Lucky Charms and a McDonald’s.
Shelly, who runs own cleaning company, told the Scottish Sun Online: “We went to the Forge to get some things and Liam has been asking about getting a hamster.
“So we went into Pets At Home and we got a dwarf hamster.
“Liam is chuffed to bits with the fact he got his hamster but I was certainly not expecting to get one.
“It probably wouldn’t have happened if the schools weren’t off.”
Walkouts across Scotland last week meant some pupils missed their third day of school due to action.
In total, kids face seven days of lost education by March.
Shelly said: “I was fine with the strikes, its not the teacher’s fault, it’s the government who are to blame.
“They are the one who are paying them pennies.
“So my comments in the video were aimed at the government. Good on the teachers for striking.
“I just did the video as a laugh, I didn’t expect it to go viral.”
But her clip about primary two pupil Liam’s successful ‘strike day’ has already racked up more than 715,000 views – and people are loving it.
One social media user said: “This actually made me laugh out loud.”
A second wrote: “Best mum award.”
Meanwhile, a third added: “This video made my day, I love it.”
Union chiefs have warned that there is no end in sight to a bitter dispute with SNP ministers over teacher pay.
The EIS claimed on Saturday that no more formal talks were scheduled with negotiators following strikes over the past two weeks.
And Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville admitted it would be “exceptionally difficult” to move forward as the government can’t afford to meet the demands for a 10 per cent rise.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: “Sadly we are coming to the end of two weeks in a row of strike action and no clear sign that there is an end to this dispute in sight.”
Ms Somerville confirmed she could sit down with unions next week despite dodging previous meetings. But she said: “Although we have actually had a couple of weeks where I did think talks were becoming more constructive, we are at the stage where there’s still quite some gap between what the Scottish Government and local government can afford and what teaching unions are willing to accept.”
It comes after unions rejected a wage offer of between five and 6.85 per cent. An extra £100million would be required to meet a 10 per cent increase.
The EIS plans 2 consecutive strike days in all schools on February 28 and March 1 — with 2 more for every school on a rolling basis in between March 13 and April 21.
Some 57,000 market employees are impacted by the continuous wage row.
