Schools in Perth and Kinross will remain open this week after national teacher strikes were suspended due to an improved pay offer being tabled.
The Scottish Government and local authority body COSLA forwarded the proposal offer on Friday and is now being considered by union members.
The proposal includes a seven per cent backdated pay rise from last April followed by a five per cent rise this April and another two per cent increase in January 2024.
Faculty members at schools in MSP John Swinney’s Perthshire North constituency were set to strike today, tomorrow and Thursday (March 7-9) this week with schools planned to close as a result.
Targeted strike action in specific Scottish Parliament constituencies had also been due to take place across the country this week but they too have been paused.
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “A planned strike affecting schools in North Perthshire from March 7 to 9 has been suspended after a new pay offer was made to teachers.
“This means all schools across Perth and Kinross will open as normal next week.
“The EIS stood down its planned targeted action next week after the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers made a new offer on Friday afternoon.
“Teaching unions will now ballot their members over whether to accept the new deal and there will be no further industrial action while this process is underway.”
Scotland’s largest teaching union EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland) had rejected a previous offer of an 11.5 per cent pay rise over two years.
But Andrea Bradley, the general secretary of the EIS, said it will recommend that members accept the latest offer.
Ms Bradley said: “The salaries committee decided overwhelmingly to put the offer that came across late this afternoon to members with the recommendation to accept.
“The executive committee decided to suspend the strike campaign while members are being balloted.”
The ballot, which opened online on Friday, runs until 10am on Friday, March 10.
“It’s absolutely right to point out that this offer doesn’t represent the achievement of all of our aims, but we have been clear for some time that any negotiation was going to feature an element of compromise,” Ms Bradley added.
“We do think that this offer marks an improvement.”
The new offer follows intensive talks between the EIS, education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and deputy first minister and Perthshire North MSP John Swinney.
National strikes also took place on February 28 and March 1.
A rough estimate of the saved costs to Perth and Kinross Council of the planned eight days of strikes in February and March is £1,960,000.
Local parents had voiced their angry that some senior pupils are facing unnecessary study hardship because schools would be closed by industrial action for an extra six days on top of two days of strikes to hit the whole of Scotland.
In turn Mr Swinney proposed the money saved during strikes be redirected by Perth and Kinross Council into study hubs for pupils impacted by walkouts.
