Education / Schools open on Wednesday despite teaching strike
ALL schools and early learning settings in Shetland will be open on Wednesday despite another national teaching strike.
The industrial action is being undertaken by members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) and teachers’ union NASUWT in a dispute over pay.
Parents in Shetland were informed on Monday that all schools and nurseries would be open for children and young people.
It comes after Scotland’s largest teaching union the EIS held a one-day strike last month, which closed many Shetland schools.
Shetland is also facing another day of strike action from EIS members on 6 January.
The SSTA said Wednesday’s strike is in “pursuit of a fair and just pay settlement” – adding that a five per cent rise is not enough.
It is also hosting a second day of strike on Thursday, but Shetland is only affected on Wednesday.
NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach said that “ministers and employers cannot continue to take the teaching profession for granted, or expect teachers to work harder and harder for less and less pay in real terms”.
Scottish education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville previously said the requested 10 per cent pay rise is “unaffordable”.
She said the last proposed pay rise was a “fair offer”.
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