Schools across Perth and Kinross closed for two days this week as teachers took to picket lines over an ongoing national pay and conditions dispute.
All primary schools and Early Learning Centres, including Fairview School, shut on Tuesday due to the mass walkout.
Secondary schools followed suit by closing on Wednesday with Perth High, Perth Academy and Robert Douglas Memorial staff members among those pictured taking to the pavements with placards and signs campaigning for better pay.
The industrial action has seen Perth High School, along with other schools in the region, reshuffle preliminary exam timetables in order to accommodate the strikes.
The action from Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) and NASUWT comes as members seek an improvement on the Scottish Government’s five per cent pay increase offer (including a rise of up to 6.85 per cent for the lowest paid staff).
Higher and further education minister Jamie Hepburn called it “a fair and fundamentally an affordable offer”.
However, the trio of unions are seeking a minimum 10 per cent increase to match the current rates of record inflation, with last-ditch talks between the unions and Scottish Government officials on Monday failing to prevent the strike action.
Fully-qualified teachers in Scotland are currently paid between £33,729 and £42,336.
It follows previous nationwide industrial action held on November 24, which saw all Perth and Kinross schools close in what was the biggest Scottish teachers’ strike in nearly 40 years.
The next strike day planned will take place on Tuesday, January 17– facilitated by EIS – with every county school and ELC setting closing, including Fairview School.
However, further talks with COSLA and the Scottish Government are planned for today and Monday in desperate attempts to reach an agreement.
EIS Perth and Kinross local association secretary Carolyn Weston called the latest offer a “pay cut” rather than an increase due to the economic climate.
She explained: “We have been very clear that our pay claim is for 10 per cent.
“This is a carefully measured, and fully evidence-based, pay claim which was submitted to COSLA and the Scottish Government nearly a year ago.
“When our pay claim was submitted, inflation was around seven per cent.
“Inflation is now hovering around 11 per cent on the CPI measure, and 14 per cent on the RPI measure.
“Perth and Kinross teachers overwhelmingly rejected the five per cent pay offer as we believed it to be a significant real terms pay cut and this is why our members are out on strike supporting their picket lines.
“For many teachers striking is entirely new territory but the strength of our collective resolve and determination has been inspirational and this has been evident in the turn outs at our picket lines.
“Having visited many picket lines across Perth and Kinross it was great to absorb the public response.
“There were so many horns being tooted from passing traffic and the comments from passers-by were extremely supportive.
“Members here remain unhappy especially as the current offer is simply a rehash of the previously rejected offer.”
She added: “I can assure you that no member out there on the picket lines wants to strike, teachers want to be in their classroom teaching their pupils.
“Our members are extremely angry about their treatment by COSLA and the Scottish Government - [the latest] strike action is the result of broken promises to Scotland’s teachers.”
Matthew Mackie, computing teacher at Perth High School and district secretary for the SSTA, was on the picket line with fellow members on Wednesday.
“We have had good representation this week and have been well supported within the schools,” he said.
“No teachers want to take strike action.
“Last year it was a five per cent offer in November and we hoped a better one would come back – but it was the same deal repackaged.
“This time talks are taking place on Friday and Monday to see what offer they may come back with.
“Our sister union EIS is striking next Tuesday. But we are hoping for an improved offer before that so it might not go ahead.
“The pay campaign has been going since April last year and now teacher numbers are diminishing [as a result]. It is not a pay rise - it is us trying to minimise pay reduction against inflation.”
