Secondary and primary schools in Scotland are closed on Thursday as tens of thousands of teachers stage a one-day walkout in response to the rejection of their new pay demands.
The protest will have all members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) in action as they reiterated their demand for a 10% pay rise.
According to BBC, the industrial action will be Scotland’s first national schools’ strike since the 1980s. Nursery schools are also affected.
Reports revealed that the revised pay offer on Tuesday was rejected as “insulting” by unions.
But Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the teachers’ demands for a 10% pay rise were “unaffordable.”
A teacher who works in Edinburgh said: “After that awful offer I think any teachers that were thinking that perhaps they might quietly stay at home were moved to start making their placards and head to one of the rallies that are taking place.
“We are asking for 10% as we are looking to keep our salaries in line with rising inflation which is currently sitting at 11%.
“We are members of the public too that are feeling the squeeze caused by this cost-of-living crisis so even if we were to get that 10% we would still be slightly below inflation. So it doesn’t even amount to a pay rise.”