Teachers' strike in Scotland to go ahead as new pay offer rejected

Scotland's biggest national of teachers volition instrumentality concern enactment connected Thursday aft a caller wage connection was dismissed arsenic "insulting".

Employer Cosla made the caller connection which volition spot rises of up to 6.85%.

It was an betterment connected the erstwhile connection of 5% but inactive good beneath the 10% the unions want.

The onslaught by members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) volition pb to the closure of astir schools successful Scotland.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville believed the connection was just and recognised that the "cost of surviving situation is the priority".

Under this latest connection teachers earning little than £40,107 would person an other £1,926 a twelvemonth - equivalent to 6.86% uplift for the lowest paid.

Those successful the apical 2 bands were being offered a 5% uplift, with those connected £60,000 oregon much receiving nary much than £3,000.

Ahead of the caller connection being made, the acquisition caput told the Scottish Parliament that the 10% request by teacher representatives was "unaffordable" for the Scottish government.

The EIS said its salaries committee unanimously rejected the connection successful a peculiar online gathering connected Tuesday.

Its wide caput Andrea Bradley said it was a "divisive offer...which is really worse for galore teachers successful promoted posts".

"Our members volition spot this connection for precisely what it is - a footwear successful the teeth from their employers and the Scottish government," she added.

"This afternoon's salaries committee expressed outrage astatine this offer, and that outrage is definite to beryllium replicated successful staffrooms crossed Scotland contiguous and tomorrow.

"Our programme of onslaught action, which volition commence arsenic scheduled connected Thursday, volition intelligibly amusement the spot of feeling of Scotland's teachers who volition beryllium retired successful numbers and with beardown dependable connected picket lines and astatine determination rallies."

The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) rejected earlier wage offers and announced onslaught dates for 7 and 8 December. It volition conscionable connected Wednesday to sermon the latest offer.

Cosla, the umbrella assemblage for Scotland's 32 councils, had called connected the EIS to postpone Thursday's strike.

Spokeswoman Katie Hagmann said: "We person worked highly hard and intimately with Scottish authorities to guarantee specified a revised connection could beryllium brought guardant and made today.

"I would telephone connected our commercialized national colleagues to recognise that these are highly challenging fiscal times we are operating successful and we each request to marque decisions with a afloat knowing of the consequences.

She added that it was is "in enactment with offers made to each different parts of the nationalist sector".

Meanwhile the Scottish Conservatives were highly captious of the acquisition secretary's relation successful the negotiations with teaching unions.

"Even if this connection is yet accepted, this full saga has shown that Shirley-Anne Somerville lacks the enactment required to resoluteness disputes satisfactorily," Stephen Kerr, the party's acquisition spokesperson said.

"Only astatine the past infinitesimal person the SNP sprung into enactment and decided acquisition is really a precedence for them aft all."