When are teachers striking in Ayrshire? North Ayrshire rally kicks off industrial action
Strikes on the west coast of Scotland start in North Ayrshire, with a rally taking place in Irvine on Tuesday
Teacher strikes in Scotland are taking place throughout January and February with a long string of industrial action starting today.
The walkouts organised by member of the Educational Institutes of Scotland (EIS) will hit different areas on different days.
The first council areas affected on the opening day of action were Glasgow and East Lothian, with areas of Ayrshire set to be impacted soon.
The strikes are due to long-running rows over wages. There were last minute talks in November to avoid the action but an offer of 5% was firmly rejected by unions.
They are instead holding out for a 10% rise across all wage brackets to ensure teachers of all wage brackets receive a fair increase to tackle the rising cost of living.
North Ayrshire is the first local authority on the West coast to hold their day of action with teachers attending picket lines from the early hours of the morning before heading to a rally in Irvine.
Speakers for the rally include the EIS General Secretary, Andrea Bradley, and CWU Divisional Rep Tam Dewar.
It’s being held at the Riverside Lodge Hotel in Irvine at 11 am on Tuesday 17 January.
'Teachers are angry'
EIS Rep, and organiser of the North Ayrshire rally, Jaqui Mackenzie told West FM that strikes will continue as long the Scottish Government fail to recognise the value of education and give teachers a fair pay rise.
She said: “Teachers are angry, and disappointed that there has been very little movement from the Scottish Government and COSLA.
“We have a mandate to strike for a period of six months since we first balloted our members, and we’re going to take full advantage of the time that we have to strike before we need to ballot again.
“The EIS Office bearers have made themselves available to have discussions at any time with short notice. We are very keen to get this dispute resolved as quickly as possible. Our members want to be back in the classrooms and back with the children they are supposed to be teaching.
“Education isn’t childcare, it’s education. It should be valued and for a good education that needs to be backed up with the money for not only resources but also for teacher pay.”
When are strikes in my area?
North Ayrshire are the first to go on strike starting Tuesday 17 January.
Similar days of protest will be held in East Ayrshire, and South Ayrshire in the next 16 days.
EIS Teachers in East Ayrshire will hold their day of action on Monday 23 January.
Teachers in South Ayrshire will be out the classroom on the picket lines two days later on Wednesday 25 January.