SCOTLAND’S school strikes are set to continue after the country’s largest teaching union rejected the latest pay offer from the Scottish Government and COSLA. 

The EIS said the 6 per cent hike offered by the employers was insufficient while inflation was over 10%.

Two days of national strike action have been planned for February 28 and March 1, as well as a further 20 days of rolling strikes across local authorities from March 13 until April 21.

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The union has also planned targeted strikes in the Glasgow Southside constituency of outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as in the constituencies of Deputy First Minster John Swinney, Education Secretary Ms Somerville, and Cosla resources spokeswoman Katie Hagmann.

Schools there are expected to close on 22, 23, 24 February and 7, 8, 9 March.

With exams due to start in April, the renewed promise of industrial action could lead to significant disruption for senior pupils.

The latest deal - unveiled last night - would see all teachers earning up to £80,000 given a 6% pay boost backdated to April 2022 and a further 5.5% from the start of the 2023 financial year.

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The EIS’s salary committee was unanimous in its rejection.  

General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: “This is another inadequate offer to Scotland’s teachers, which was unanimously rejected by the EIS Salaries Committee earlier today. 

“The 6% value of the offer for 2022-23 is insufficient, with CPI inflation currently sitting today at 10.5%. 

“The 6% offer for this year is only 1% less of a pay cut than that previously offered, twice, by the Scottish Government and COSLA. 

“Teachers have already lost more than 1% of their salaries through being forced into strike action so, essentially, teachers already more than paid for this revised offer themselves.”

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She also said it was wrong for the government to make an offer for next year without first gong through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers.

“In attempting to tag on next year’s pay settlement, without any negotiation at all, the Scottish Government and COSLA are attempting to tie the hands not just of teacher trade unions but all public sector unions – and this is unacceptable to the EIS,” she said.

Ms Bradley added: “As a result of the clear decision to reject this offer, taken by our Salaries Committee today, our Executive Committee has also unanimously agreed that the current programme of strike action will continue as scheduled. 

“The EIS remains, as ever, willing and available to engage in further discussions with both the Scottish Government and COSLA, through the appropriate forum within the SNCT, to attempt to reach a resolution to this dispute.”

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the rejection of the offer was "deeply disappointing." She said she had hoped the union would at least have consulted members. 

“It is a fair offer – the fifth that has been made to unions – and would have meant a salary rise of 11.5% for most teachers in April, with a cumulative rise of almost 30% since January 2018.

“We looked for compromise – as we were asked to do – and dug deep under very challenging financial circumstances to arrive at a deal that is affordable and sustainable.

“I urge the unions to continue discussions with the Scottish Government and COSLA so this dispute can be resolved as soon as possible.

“I appeal, again, for unions to suspend planned strike action while talks are ongoing to avoid further disruption to our children and young people’s education.”

Cllr Hagmann said:  “This is very disappointing.  The decision by the unions to turn down the offer of good faith, without even asking their members, means that teachers will not see a penny of this pay increase in 22/23.

"Once eventually agreed, any additional pay will be subject to higher tax in 23/24, meaning less money in the pockets of teachers. This was not what Council Leaders wanted nor is it in the best interest of our teaching workforce.”

Scottish Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra said: “The government’s failure to reach a deal with teaching unions is a huge disappointment for families and education staff.

"We cannot afford more disruption in our schools with the exam season approaching and our young people already suffering from huge loss of learning through the pandemic years.

“The SNP must now seek to move to rolling negotiation. We waited three months for this latest offer to be made. Ministers must be back at the table this week with councils and unions to strike a deal."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said pupils had lost 2.1 million days of education due to the strikes.

“To get Scottish education back on track, we need to get the basics right," he said. "That means boosting pay and conditions for staff, permanent contracts, creating more time for lesson planning and cutting class sizes so that pupils get the support they deserve.”