An Edinburgh teacher, who has worked in capital schools for 30 years, says she is left with no money at the end of each month due to her salary staying the same.
52-year-old, EIS member, Claire Robertson, was just one of thousands of people to strike across Scotland on Tuesday January 10 in a dispute over pay.
Teachers, and unions who represent them, have been vocal on how unhappy they are with the pay deals offered by the Scottish Government.
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Claire said: “The cost of my mortgage has gone up, my car insurance, my dog insurance, everything has gone up while my pay has stayed the same.”
"We were on a fixed term mortgage and it’s just come to an end and our mortgage has went up by £200 a month” and “my heating bill has went up £90 a month.”
“Instead of having to be able to put a little bit of money to the side at the end of the month, I don’t have any money at the end of the month. It’s all going to pay for my messages and all of my bills like everybody else.”
Last ditch talks on Monday failed between the Scottish Government and the unions.
Teachers were offered a five per cent pay increase, including rises of up to 6.85 per cent for the lowest-paid staff. It was rejected it due to the overwhelming cost of inflation that has affected household bills including mortgage, gas and electric.
Claire added: “The strike today and moving forward is about our pay. Our pay has reduced in real terms over the last few years by 20 per cent and 25 per cent so we haven’t had a cost of living pay increase for a long, long time.”
“We are trying to tell our employer COSLA and the Scottish Government that they need to pay us right to be able to do our job right.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government continues to urge teaching unions to reconsider their plans for industrial action while talks are ongoing,”
“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 value our teaching workforce and recognise the vital importance of an agreement on pay, but we cannot escape the unprecedented pressures facing Scotland’s budget.”
“While we have been clear that a 10 per cent pay increase is unaffordable within the Scottish Government’s fixed budget, we remain absolutely committed to a fair and sustainable pay deal.”
Strike action will continue in Edinburgh and the Lothians with secondary schools to be closed tomorrow with teachers due to walk out over pay.
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