Primary school leaders’ body AHDS has given formal notice that it plans to begin balloting members over strike action next week.
The AHDS says the strike ballot will open on 10 October and run until 8 November.
In an indicative ballot, 92 per cent of AHDS members voted to reject the current pay offer and 80 per cent said they would be willing to strike to get a better deal. The turnout was 76 per cent.
The news comes after the EIS teaching union announced that it, too, had issued formal notices to all 32 Scottish local authorities confirming that it would open a statutory strike ballot for teachers in a week, on Wednesday 12 October.
AHDS general secretary Greg Dempster said the results of the AHDS indicative poll showed how “deeply unhappy” primary leaders were.
He added: “For a union that has only ever balloted members once before, it really shows the strength of feeling that the current offer does not properly recognise the contribution of school leaders and the profession, or the cost of living.”
Scottish teaching unions have said they want a 10 per cent rise this year, but so far the best offer from councils and the Scottish government is 5 per cent.
The move to a statutory ballot for strike action follows the overwhelming result in a recent EIS consultative ballot, in which 91 per cent of members confirmed their willingness to move to strike action in pursuit of a fair pay settlement, based on a turnout of 78 per cent.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said the issuing of formal ballot notices marked “a further serious warning to Scotland’s local authorities and the Scottish government”.
She said the pay offer had to be improved or schools would close across Scotland this autumn.
Ms Bradley said: “Teachers do not consider the prospect of taking strike action lightly, but our members are deeply angry at the continuing dragging of feet and the series of sub-inflationary pay offers that have brought us to this point. Teachers are highly skilled professionals who perform a vital job that is crucial to the entire country, and they fully deserve to be paid appropriately for the essential work that they do.
“The message from EIS members could not be clearer - pay us properly, or we will strike in schools across the length and breadth of Scotland.”
Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra said: “Teachers have gone above and beyond to try and repair the damage the pandemic has done to kids’ education, but the SNP has shown them nothing but contempt in return.
“No one wants strikes, but it is the SNP government’s responsibility to get round the table with a fair offer and prevent them.”
He added: “The SNP are selling Scottish education short and letting down pupils and teachers alike with their botched handling of these negotiations.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Strikes are in no one’s interest - least of all for pupils, parents and carers who have already faced significant disruption over the past three years.
“This government has a strong record of support for teachers and are proud to have the best paid workforce of anywhere in the UK. It is disappointing that unions have rejected the latest pay offer. Accepting the offer of 5 per cent would have meant that teachers received a cumulative pay increase of 21.8 per cent since 2018.
“The cabinet secretary holds regular meetings with all teachers’ unions to discuss a range of issues, including pay. These meetings have taken place over the last two weeks.
“We are absolutely committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, the body that negotiates teachers’ pay and conditions of service.
“It is for local authorities, as the employer, to make a revised pay offer.”
