SCOTS schools are expected to be closed on Monday as attempts to resolve the continuing teachers' pay dispute broke down today.
Unions say that no new pay offer was presented by the Scottish Government and the local authority group, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) at continued negotiations at 4.30pm to try and resolve the dispute.
And there are no plans for any further talks before a fresh wave of strikes begins next week.
Schools in Glasgow and East Lothian are now expected to be closed on Monday, with strike action then continuing on a rolling basis within two authorities each day.
The education secretary called on the unions to stop the industrial action.
Primary schools were shut on Tuesday and secondary schools were closed on Wednesday after members of the Educational Institute of Scotland, NASUWT, Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association and the Association of Headteachers and Deputes voted to strike.
Unions rejected a 5% pay increase, arguing for 10%, although the offer includes rises of up to 6.85% for the lowest paid staff.
COSLA said that the the 10% claim was "unaffordable".
READ MORE: Prelim exams rescheduled as Scots secondary teachers strike
The national executive committee of the EIS union will meet on Friday and will be considering next steps in the campaign toward the realisation of a fair pay settlement for Scotland's teachers.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said, “Despite their warm words over the past week, the Scottish Government and COSLA have again failed to come to the table with a new pay offer to Scotland’s teachers. Our members are not prepared to accept the repeatedly reheated sub-inflationary offer that has now been sitting around for six months, and that is neither fair nor affordable for teachers. In the absence of an improved offer, our members will continue with strike action from Monday of next week, in their struggle for fair pay.”
Teachers in Scotland will strike on a further 16 days in a dispute over pay from Monday.
The consecutive days of action - split across every council in the country - will take place in January and February.
Teachers in two local authorities will strike on each of the 16 days.
On Tuesday schools in Perth and Kinross and in North Ayrshire are set to shut.
While on Wednesday Orkney and Fife will be hit. On Thursday it will be Moray and North Lanarkshire's turn.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney previously said there was no more money to fund public sector pay rises.
But the same was said by Mr Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon before £200m was found to fund pay rises for local authority workers in September, which allowed the lowest paid staff to get a pay increase of around 10 to 11% following the intervention of the First Minister.
Union leaders have previously warned Scots council leaders that frontline service cuts "won't be tolerated" after accepting the pay deal which end the dispute at the 11th hour that threatened to shut schools and waste disposal services.
Within days of the extra money being found, the Scottish Government said savings of £500m would have to be made.
Mr Swinney said the new pay agreements had led to a bill of £700m, which meant “taking money from elsewhere”.
The dispute saw piles of rubbish build up in city centres as waste workers went on strike.
The Scottish Government was originally only providing an extra £140m of funding on a recurring basis to support an original pay offer - while COSLA was to come up with the extra £260m.
The Scottish Government said it had effectively provided an extra £120.6m additional capital annually to fund the increase in salaries. COSLA had initially offered workers two percent then 3.5% and then 5% – all rejected outright by Unite - before the revised offer on September 2 was tabled.
The pay deal came after councils told parents that schools and nurseries would be shutting in a matter of days as industrial action was due to spread to thousands of education staff in 13 council areas.
Katie Hagmann, COSLA spokesperson for resources said: “I am pleased that we continue to be in proactive discussions with our trade union and Scottish Government partners as we endeavour to find areas for agreement .
“Strikes in education are in nobody’s interest and all parties are eager to seek a resolution that not only protects the teaching and wider local government workforce, but also our children and young people’s educational experience.
“COSLA leaders are clear that given the financial pressures being faced it remains the case that the 10% ask of the trade unions remains unaffordable and therefore we still remain a distance apart in terms of a settlement.
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "This week’s SNCT meetings have provided a crucial opportunity to further discuss potential areas for agreement. There is a shared understanding that these latest talks are focussed on examining options for compromise, rather than tabling a new offer at this time.
“While talks are ongoing, the Scottish Government continues to urge the teaching unions to reconsider their plans for industrial action.
“Strikes in our schools are in no one’s interest – including for pupils, parents and carers who have already had to deal with significant disruption over the past three years.
“We remain absolutely committed to a fair and sustainable pay deal."
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