A PLEA from Scotland's largest teaching union has been made to Dunfermline residents to help stop targeted strike action.

The EIS is asking those living within Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville's constituency to write to the MSP calling for an end to the ongoing pay dispute.

Primary, early years and special school settings in the city closed yesterday (Wednesday) and will remain shut to pupils today (Thursday) and tomorrow, with further strikes on March 7, 8 and 9.

Dunfermline is one of five regions to face an additional six planned days of industrial action on top of national strikes which are due to close all Fife schools on February 28 and March 1.

The other four areas due to be affected are: Glasgow Southside, held by Nicola Sturgeon; Perthshire North, held by John Swinney; Dumfries and Galloway, the council area of COSLA resources spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmann; and East Dunbartonshire, the consistency of Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer.

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Graeme Keir, an English teacher and officer with EIS Fife, says union members aren't taking the decision to strike lightly.

"Many are very anxious about the impact, but feel there is no other option," he said.

"The campaign is about more than pay. It’s about the worsening conditions in the classroom, increasing violence in classrooms, the decrease in resources that teachers have, as well as an awareness that if we don’t improve pay, there will be no teachers coming into, or staying in, the profession.

"There’s a collective view that if we don’t win a decent pay award now then the future looks pretty bleak for Scottish schools."

In a letter to Ms Somerville, calling for an end to the dispute, he wrote: "Every teacher I’ve spoken to wants to be in their classrooms during February, March and April.

"Teachers love teaching and working with young people. However, they can’t continue to get poorer as a price of doing the job."

He claims that teachers have suffered a 20 per cent real terms pay cut since 2008, leaving many struggling to afford to pay their bills.

The Scottish Government and COSLA, the body which represents local authorities, presented a £156 million, two-year deal to the union last week.

This offer involved a six per cent pay rise for 2023 and an additional 5.5 per cent increase from next April.

However, the EIS salaries committee unanimously rejected the proposal claiming it was “another inadequate offer to Scotland’s teachers” with CPI inflation currently sitting at 10.5 per cent.

Mr Keir continued: "Schools are facing unprecedented challenges with a mental health crisis, and cuts to the services used to support young people.

"Many staff feel overwhelmed with the scale of the crisis, their ever-increasing workload, and the disconnect of politicians who should be supporting teachers to solve these issues."

Earlier this month the Press reported that in the 2021/22 year there were a total of 13,620 days where staff were absent from Fife schools for mental ill health reasons.

Carrie Lindsay, executive director of education and children’s services, acknowledged the "significant disruption to education settings" but announced that her team had made the "difficult decision" to close Dunfermline schools for the entire eight days of action.

In a statement last week, Ms Somerville called the rejected offer "fair", adding that Holyrood had "looked for compromise" with an "affordable and sustainable deal".

She said: "I urge the unions to continue discussions with the Scottish Government and COSLA so this dispute can be resolved as soon as possible.

"I appeal, again, for unions to suspend planned strike action while talks are ongoing to avoid further disruption to our children and young people’s education."