More Scottish school strike dates to be announced

Scotland's teachers are to announce more strike dates for next year, the EIS union has said.

The first full strike in Scotland's schools for nearly 40 years will take place on Thursday.

It comes after what the union described as an "insulting" revised pay offer from council body Colsa was rejected.

Scotland's largest teaching union has already announced additional strike dates for January and said industrial action in February is now planned too.

The EIS also warned further strikes in December could not be ruled out.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has described the pay offer on the table as fair and said the EIS demand of a flat 10% rise for teachers was "unaffordable".

Cosla made a fresh proposal on Tuesday which would see rises of up to 6.85% for some teachers earning less than £40,107.

But EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley told BBC Good Morning Scotland the proposal was a "blundersome move" and had "served to significantly add fuel to the fire in terms of our members anger about how they have been treated over pay".

She added: "A cheap deal with teachers is simply not going to cut it.

"We had assurances last week from Scottish government and Cosla colleagues that they were doing their utmost to find new money. They simply have not done that.

"The EIS has announced two days of strike action in January and it is now inevitable that further days will be announced tomorrow, so we will looking at strikes throughout the months of January and February and it really depends what happens at the negotiating table as to whether they can be averted."

Asked if there would be any strikes before Christmas, Ms Bradley said there were no current plans but the union "wouldn't take it off the table".

The strike by members of the EIS on Thursday will lead to the closure of most schools in Scotland.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association is also planning a strike on 7 and 8 December with the union suggesting this will mean some full school closures, while others will be only partially open with timetables disrupted.

A third teachers' union - the NASUWT - said its members would also strike on 7 and 8 December.

They will then take action short of strike action from 9 December, refusing to cover for absent colleagues and attending no more than one meeting per week outside pupil sessions.

The EIS has already announced its members in primary schools will strike on 10 January. This will be followed by strikes at secondary schools on 11 January.

The union, which represents around 80% of teachers, is expected to announce further strike dates in February.

Under the rejected Cosla proposal some teachers earning less than £40,107 would receive an extra £1,926 a year - equivalent to a 6.86% uplift for the lowest paid.

Those in the top two bands were being offered a 5% uplift, with those on £60,000 or more receiving no more than £3,000.

Ms Somerville called on the unions to "appreciate the context" of the Scottish government's position, with a fixed budget that is under "extreme pressure".

She told BBC Radio Scotland: "I appreciate the EIS may want to see a 10% rise, but I go back to the simple context that the budget is fully committed within the Scottish government.

"While I appreciate they may have wished to see more done, this is a year where we are under extreme pressure on a fixed budget that is already committed and it is simply impossible to meet a demand of a 10% pay increase."

In a separate dispute, staff at 17 Scottish universities are expected to walk out on Thursday and Friday and on 30 November.

About 8,000 workers in Scotland are expected to join a UK-wide strike over pay, working conditions and pensions.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the impact would vary between institutions, but they expected some tutorials and lectures to be cancelled.