Teachers Strike Action In Scotland To Close Most Schools On Thursday 24 November and Two more days of action in January

19th November 2022

The EIS has announced two additional national strike days in its ongoing campaign for a fair pay settlement for Scotland's teaching professionals.

Following a meeting of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) Extended Joint Chairs this afternoon, at which no new offer was made, EIS members are set to take strike action next week, on Thursday 24 November, in schools across Scotland.

The EIS will call its members out on two further days in the New Year, in the latest step in an escalating programme of industrial action.

[bMembers in all schools will be taking strike action on 24 November.

Following this, on Tuesday 10th January, the EIS will call all its Primary, Special Schools (Primary and Primary/Secondary), and Early Years teacher members across Scotland to take another day of strike action.

The following day, on Wednesday 11th January, all EIS members in Secondary and Special Schools (Secondary only), and all Associated Professionals, will be called to take a further day of strike action.[/b]

Commenting this afternoon, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, "All EIS members in all of Scotland’s schools will be called upon to take strike action next week unless a fair pay offer is made in time.

"Following this, the EIS has allowed for a period of further negotiation up until the Christmas break, giving yet another opportunity for an agreement to be reached.

"Should no acceptable offer be received from employers by this time, our members will be called to take further strike action on two days in early January. The ball is very much in the court of COSLA and the Scottish Government - only an improved and acceptable offer can prevent strike action and an escalation to further action in this dispute."

Ms Bradley added, "It is extremely disappointing that today’s meeting of the Extended Joint Chairs of the SNCT did not result in any new offer from COSLA and the Scottish Government. Instead, this meeting – requested at short notice by the Scottish Government – seems to have been called simply to make it appear as though talks are progressing.

"In fact, this meeting simply went round the houses in areas that have been covered many times before, with still no improvement to the 5% offer that Scotland’s teachers overwhelming rejected in a ballot some three months ago. Scotland’s’ teachers – and Scotland’s young people – deserve far better from COSLA and the Scottish Government."