Lanarkshire schools set to close as teachers vote to strike

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Lanarkshire schools are set to close after teachers voted for strike action following a bitter pay dispute.Any walkout would be the first national strike since the 1980s.

On a turnout of 71 per cent, 96 per cent members of the EIS trade union supported strike action.The vote follows a separate consultative ballot, where 94 per cent of EIS members rejected a 5 per cent pay offer and 91 per cent said they would be willing to move to strike action.

Scotland faces a crippling winter of discontent, with nurses also voting for a strike.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: “This ballot result provides the EIS with an extremely strong mandate for strike action over pay.“Our members have sent yet another very clear message to their employers in Scottish local authorities and to the Scottish Government that they must do better on teachers’ pay.“Our members should have received a pay increase in April but, after months of unjustifiable dither and delay from COSLA and the Scottish Government, we are still waiting for an acceptable offer to be made.“Quite frankly, our members have had enough of waiting and enough of feeling the financial strain of the cost of living on top of the significant stress of their teaching jobs.”Earlier this month, Scotland’s Finance Secretary