Teachers across Dumfries and Galloway are preparing for strike action next week.
Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) will form picket lines over two days.
On Tuesday the first strike day will mainly affect primary schools with Wednesday’s second day of action impacting secondary schools.
It comes as unions warn that the education sector is in a precarious position due to a decline in the number of teachers.
They are demanding a 10 per cent pay rise which according to COSLA, the employers’ side, is unaffordable.
Andrew O’ Halloran, regional association secretary for the EIS, said: “Members are extremely disappointed that COSLA and the Scottish Government have not come back to the negotiating table, but the resolve of teachers to see this dispute through is stronger than it was before Christmas. On Tuesday, January 10, EIS members in primary schools will be on strike across Dumfries and Galloway, with secondary colleagues on strike the following day.
“There will be pickets at schools across the region on both days, as happened on the last strike day in December, as well as an online strike hub and an in-person hub in Dumfries.
“This will inevitably lead to disruption to learning and
teaching, which our employers
could have avoided. Parents should remember that we have been negotiating since April 2022, but little progress has been made.
“Anything less than a 10 per cent pay settlement is a de facto pay cut, given the height to which inflation has risen.
“There is also a wider context of ever-increasing workload, ASN, issues with pupil behaviour and the fallout from the pandemic which is making teaching a much less attractive career than it was a decade ago.
“Should COSLA and the Scottish Government not come up with an improved offer, all EIS members in Dumfries and Galloway will be on strike again on Monday, January 23.
“It is entirely within the gift of our employers to resolve this dispute and avoid further disruption to learning and teaching.
“Failure to do so is highly irresponsible on their part.”
EIS members walked out in November for the first time in nearly 40 years after rejecting a deal worth roughly five per cent. A NASUWT ballot, covering staff in schools in Scotland, closes on Monday.
Katie Hagmann, COSLA’s resources spokeswoman, said previously: “We are disappointed that strikes are going ahead.
“In an effort to prevent strikes happening, we as employers made a revised fourth offer to our trade union colleagues, that did include additional money.
“It was a fair and affordable offer which recognises the cost of living crisis as the priority by focusing on higher increases for staff on lower pay points.
“But we remain open to having open and honest conversations about how we can reach a viable and realistic settlement that protects the best interests of teachers, children and young people and our wider communities.”
