TEACHERS have threatened strike action across Scottish schools after their demand for a 10 per cent pay hike was rejected.

In a move that threatens to pit unions against councils in unprecedented industrial action, teachers branded an offer of a three per cent wage increase “unacceptable" and said they would be prepared to walk out of the classroom if it wasn't improved.

The row came after Cosla, the umbrella body for local authorities, agreed teachers should be offered a three per cent rise in line with other council workers - describing the offer as "best and final".

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Local authorities argue offering a higher sum to teachers would break the traditional practice or offering all council workers the same amount.

And Cosla intends to write to the Scottish Government suggesting that if they want teachers to be given a larger increase they should offer the same to other workers and fund the deal accordingly.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country's largest teaching union, said teachers' pay had been seriously eroded over the past decade making the profession less attractive to graduates and leading to difficulties recruiting staff.

An EIS spokesman said: "Although we will not pre-empt this process, the EIS previously has been very clear that an offer in line with current Scottish Government public sector pay policy will not be acceptable to Scotland's teachers, who have seen their take home pay fall by 25%, in real terms, over the past decade.

"Our members have also made clear that they would not find any form of differentiated settlement – offering different percentage increases to teachers at different grades – to be acceptable.

"While a fair negotiated settlement remains our preferred route, other options up to and including industrial action remain possible in the event that a negotiated agreement cannot be reached through the SNCT."

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A paper prepared for a meeting of council leaders to discuss the issue, seen by The Herald, said the pay negotiations were taking place at a time of cost pressures on councils and "heightened employee expectations" following the Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy announcements.

Cosla said it had inferred from the Scottish Government's position that the expectation of ministers was that teacher pay rises "would follow the pattern of the Scottish Government pay policy".

"Given that no funding for pay increases had been included in the local government settlement, it is proposed that the offer must be best and final," the Cosla paper states.

Estimating the deal as costing in the region of £338 million the Cosla paper adds: "It is also suggested that Cosla write to the Scottish Government to explain its agreed position in relation to this year’s pay negotiations, re-affirming Cosla's commitment to parity across the bargaining groups and setting out the expectation that, should the Scottish Government seek a higher settlement for teachers ... then this should be extended to all bargaining groups and be fully funded by Scottish Government."

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The row comes after more than a decade of pay erosion for the teaching profession as a result of wider public sector pay restraint following the financial crash of 2007/08. The EIS estimates the decline at some 13 per cent.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has committed to lifting the one per cent public sector pay cap and providing for a three per cent pay rise for NHS staff, police, teachers and other council workers.

A major report on education systems around the developed world last year found the value of pay for secondary staff in Scotland was ranked 19th out of 37 countries compared to eighth in 2007.

The survey report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concluded: “In contrast to the general trend across OECD countries, teachers’ statutory salaries in ... Scotland were worth less in real terms than they were in 2005.”