TEACHERS will be balloted on strike action within weeks as a row over pay escalates.
The move comes after members of Scotland’s largest teaching union voted to reject the latest pay deal.
Following the vote by members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) the union's executive committee has now agreed to move to a statutory ballot on a strike action in April.
The ballot is scheduled to open on Monday 11th March, and will run for three and a half weeks.
The EIS executive also agreed a date for the first potential day of strike action – Wednesday 24th April.
Read more: Teachers reject latest pay offer
Larry Flanagan, the union's general secretary, said: "The 81 per cent in our consultative ballot was quite remarkable and is a strong confirmation that it is our members who are making the decisions in this campaign.
"The vote, where 57 per cent rejected the offer against 43 per cent who accepted, was a decisive one and leaves both the Scottish Government and councils in no doubt as to the mood of members and both our ability and willingness to move to strike action if that is what is required to generate an acceptable offer.”
The EIS executive agreed the union will continue to pursue a negotiated settlement and also said no action should be taken during the SQA exam diet. However, further action would follow in June if no negotiated solution has been achieved by then.
Read more: How likely are school strikes?
The latest offer from the Scottish Government and council unbrella body Cosla was three per cent from April last year with a further three per cent from January, an additional three per cent in April and another three per cent in April next year.
In recognition of concern over problems in the recruitment and retention of teachers Cosla has also agreed to back a restructuring of wider pay scales and took at pay for promoted teachers.
However, teaching unions had campaigned for an immediate 10 per cent rise for all staff arguing salaries have fallen behind over the past decade.
More than 40 per cent of EIS members voted to back the deal, but 57 per cent rejected it.
There had been hope for the Scottish Government earlier in the week after members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association voted to accept the deal.
Read more: First ever strike threatened at Scotland's exam body
However, because the EIS is by far the largest teaching union in Scotland - with more than 48,000 members compared to 9,000 for the SSTA - any industrial action it undertakes will cause significant disruption to schools.
Councils expressed disappointment at the move, with officials insisting no more money was available.
Gail Macgregor, resources spokeswoman for council umbrella body Cosla, said: “We absolutely value the education of our young people and throughout these negotiations have re-iterated the value we place on our teachers and the work that they do.
“That is why a very fair offer, at the absolute limits of what we could afford, was presented to our teachers and I am disappointed with today’s rejection.
“Industrial action in our schools is in nobody’s interests and it is for this reason we will continue to engage as positively as we can with Government and the trade unions.”
Read more: What you need to know about the SQA strike threat
John Swinney, the Educaiotn Secretary, also expressed concern at the escalation.
He said: "The offer put to teachers is the best pay deal in the UK for any public sector worker. It would see every teacher receive a minimum nine per cent pay increase by April this year with a further three per cent next year.
“Two out of the three trade unions balloted on this offer have voted in favour and the EIS decision is by a relatively narrow margin. A large number of teachers voted to accept the offer which clearly demonstrates the advantages they saw in the deal.
“This strong offer remains on the table. Industrial action in any of our schools would not be in the interest of teachers, young people or parents.”
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