Scotland’s largest teaching union has announced 16 new strike dates in a dispute over pay.
The strikes will see strike action on “sixteen consecutive days in January and February”, with teachers in “two local authorities on strike on each of these sixteen days,” Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) general secretary Andrea Bradley said.
It means on any one day, small parts of Scotland will be affected – but across the 16 days much of the nation will be impacted.
The EIS, which represents 80% of Scottish teachers, said national strike action took place for teachers for the first time in four decades yesterday, leading to the closure of every state school on the Scottish mainland.
Scottish teachers are calling for a 10% pay rise – which Scottish authorities say they cannot afford – and better working conditions.
Ms Bradley said: “We have been forced into the escalation of this action by the lack of willingness to negotiate properly and to pay teachers properly, by a government that says it wished to be judged on its record on education.
“The judgement of Scotland’s teachers on the matter of pay is clear, with the first programme of national strike action that we have engaged in for four decades.”
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Under new proposals teachers earning under £40,107 would receive an increase of £1,926 per year – 6.85% for those on the lower salaries – while those earning more would get 5%.
The EIS has called for a 10% pay rise from the Scottish government.
Yesterday, Scottish Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somverville called for the unions to return to the negotiating table.
“I appreciate the strength of feeling that’s within the unions, that they want to see a 10% increase, but I would point out that since 2018, Scottish government has provided – including this year’s proposal – a 21.8% cumulative increase in teacher salaries,” she said on Bauer Radio.
Several industries are planning strikes across the UK this year, from transport to the NHS and education to delivery drivers.
