Teachers in Scotland to go on strike this month

Teachers successful Scotland volition signifier a 24-hour walkout connected 24 November aft voting overwhelmingly to onslaught successful a quality implicit pay.

Members of the EIS national rejected a 5% wage offer, saying they wanted 10%.

EIS wide caput Andrea Bradley said they had go "increasingly aggravated implicit their treatment" by employers and the Scottish government.

The EIS said 96% of its members backed a teachers' onslaught connected a 71% turnout.

It volition clasp a further enforcement gathering connected Friday to hold further concern action.

General caput Andrea Bradley said: "We hoped not to get to this point, and person fixed section authorities and the Scottish authorities ample clip to travel up with a just wage offer.

"But, with a pay-rise for teachers present much than 7 months precocious and with the past wage connection having been rejected by teachers astir 3 months ago, the blasted for this determination to onslaught enactment sits squarely with Cosla and the Scottish government."

It came connected apical of £560m cuts to nationalist services successful September.

The Scottish authorities said it was "committed to supporting a just wage offer" done the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers - the assemblage that negotiates wage and conditions of service.

But the EIS accused the authorities of "dithering and delaying" portion the outgo of surviving situation "continues to erode the worth of their pitiful offers to Scotland's teachers".

"Teachers bash not instrumentality onslaught enactment lightly," said Andrea Bradley, "but person voted to bash truthful successful airy of the continuing steep real-terms diminution successful their pay.

"Politicians who person lauded the invaluable enactment of teachers passim the pandemic and during the ongoing play of betterment are present offering teachers a heavy real-terms wage cut.

"This volition ne'er beryllium acceptable to Scotland's teachers oregon to the EIS, and that is wherefore Scotland's teachers volition beryllium taking onslaught enactment 2 weeks from today."

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish authorities recognised "the captious value of reaching a just and affordable solution connected pay, some for the workforce during a outgo of surviving crisis, and for the pupils and parents".

"Strikes successful our schools are successful no-one's interest," she said, "least of each for pupils, parents and carers who person already faced important disruption implicit the past 3 years."

The Scottish Conservatives said the blasted for the teachers' onslaught "lies squarely" with Ms Somerville.

The Tories' acquisition spokesperson Stephen Kerr said: "The menace of onslaught enactment has been looming for months yet the acquisition caput failed to get circular the array and guarantee a solution was found.

"Pupils missing yet much schoolroom clip is the past happening they request aft the disruption they had to endure during the pandemic."

Scottish Labour's acquisition spokesperson Michael Marra said "years of SNP mismanagement and neglect" were astatine the basal of the onslaught action.

He added: "Teachers person been going supra and beyond to present the acquisition betterment children and young radical truthful severely need, and this should beryllium recognised.

"No-one wants strikes successful schools, but pupils and teachers alike are being failed by the SNP's catastrophic deficiency of leadership."