Teacher strikes: New pay offer for teachers within days, says minister

A new pay offer is to be put to teachers within days, the Scottish Government has confirmed.  

While the government has been locked in discussions with local authority body Cosla, unions have warned that any new deal would need to be “significantly improved” to avoid further industrial action. The previous deal was between five per cent to almost seven per cent for most staff, but teachers have asked for a ten per cent pay increase.  

The Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said that a new offer will be tabled "within the next few days".  

Teacher walk-outs across the 32 local authorities have been taking place since November, and further strikes are due to take place on 28 February and 1 March.  

The EIS teaching union is planning 20 further days of rolling strikes across all local authorities during March and April.  

Somerville said: "We have been working very closely with Cosla as the employers, and we hope that a new fair and affordable offer can be made to teachers within the next few days. 

"If we can get this offer on the table, I hope trades union colleagues will take it back to their members so this dispute can be resolved without further disruption to children and young people’s education. 

"I would repeat my call to the unions to suspend industrial action while discussions are continuing.” 

Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe said: “My understanding is there are discussions going on within Government at the moment and I am certainly on standby, as are my 31 council leader colleagues, to be called to a special meeting of leaders tomorrow to approve a revised offer. 

“What that offer will look like I don’t know, as I am not privy to the discussions which are taking place in Government. 

“I would hope that we could find a way to at least suspend the strikes, maybe pending further discussions around a two-year deal but, at this point in time, I really don’t know what the Government is going to come up with.”