Teachers all over the country are set to walk out in a series of strikes happening throughout January and February.
Beginning today, Monday, January 16, the planned industrial action by members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) will affect certain local authorities on different days.
The first two councils affected are Glasgow, where all schools are closed on Monday, and East Lothian where they are shut to all pupils apart from those taking preliminary exams that day.
The walkouts are due to long-running rows over wages, and despite the union recently negotiating with the Scottish Government, an agreement has not yet been reached and an offer of a 5% rise was rejected.
Each day until February 6, teachers from two of Scotland's 32 local authorities will be going on strike which will result in school closures.
Here's everything you need to know about the schools that will be shut today, as well as the remaining dates and councils affected by the industrial action.
Which schools in Scotland are shut today?
Monday, January 16 will see teachers in the Glasgow and East Lothian areas take part in a mass walkout.
As a result, all schools in Glasgow will be shut. In East Lothian, they will also remain closed except for pupils who are taking preliminary exams.
The EIS has said that other recent strikes have managed to bring the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) together to try and negotiate, but so far a deal has not been reached.
In a statement, EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: "The programme of additional strike action, agreed today, is a direct response to the inaction of the Scottish Government and COSLA on teacher pay.
"After a year of dither, delay and disingenuity from the Scottish Government and COSLA, Scotland’s teachers have simply had enough."
Scotland school strike dates 2023
For the rest of January and leading into February, more schools across Scotland will be affected by the industrial action.
You can see the full list of dates and local authorities affected below:
- Monday January 16: Glasgow & East Lothian
- Tuesday January 17: Perth and Kinross & North Ayrshire
- Wednesday January 18: Orkney & Fife
- Thursday January 19: Moray & North Lanarkshire
- Friday January 20: Angus & East Dunbartonshire
- Monday January 23: East Ayrshire & Dumfries and Galloway
- Tuesday January24: Stirling & East Renfrewshire
- Wednesday January 25: South Ayrshire & Edinburgh
- Thursday January 26: Midlothian & West Dunbartonshire
- Friday January 27: Renfrewshire & Falkirk
- Monday January 30: Aberdeenshire & Borders
- Tuesday January 31: Highland & West Lothian
- Wednesday February 1: Clackmannanshire & Aberdeen
- Thursday February 2: Dundee & Argyll and Bute
- Friday February 3: South Lanarkshire & Western Isles
- Monday February 6: Inverclyde & Shetland
If your child has prelim exams on the planned strike days, they may have to be rescheduled, so check with the school for more information.
Will there be any more school strikes in Scotland?
As well as the 16 days of rolling strike action that kicked off today, the EIS also recently announced a further 22 days of walkouts.
The exact details have not yet been revealed but they will take place over 20 days between March 13 and April 21, with two days of national strike action in all schools and sectors on February 28 and March 1.
Over the 20-day period, each local authority will be impacted by three consecutive days of strike action, with one day of strike action in all schools bookended on either side by one-day strikes in primary and secondary schools.
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