TEACHERS have gathered outside Shirley-Anne Somerville's constituency office in Dunfermline as schools close due to targeted strike action.

"We just want to be in classrooms" shouted EIS members in attendance, who also posted letters demanding an end to the pay dispute this afternoon (Wednesday) for the city MSP and Education Secretary, who was in parliament at the time.

Michael Marra, Scottish Labour MSP for the North East Scotland region and shadow education secretary for the party, said he "didn't think we'd be here again".

In a speech he told members: "Lets hope we get a deal, lets hope you win."

The feeling amongst teachers was the same as it always has been: a deal has to be made to ensure the future of education.

On his reasons for joining the protest, Mr Marra told the Press: "The young people and children in Dunfermline are missing their education today, part of it is showing support for them as well as their teachers.

"There's a real emotion from teachers today, this is really beginning, as it probably has throughout, to affect them.

"They desperately want to be back in classrooms teaching the kids but they are standing strong for teachers right across Scotland and making the case that education has to be funded properly."

He thinks finding a deal is the only way to bring industrial action to an end, saying that there is "mounting concern" at Holyrood about "the inability" of the government to put forward a solution.

Mr Marra added: "It doesn't feel to me like there is a real energy from the government to get a deal done here.

"We know that in the end a deal will have to be done, that's the only way this ends.

"I think we need to be moving now to much more intensify negotiations on a daily basis rather than waiting weeks at a time.

"I didn't think we'd be here again, my parents and they were involved in the teaching strikes in the 80s under Thatcher and it was Tory ministers who were targeted.

"Here we are 40 years on in a national teacher strike which is being characterised by incompetence on behalf of the government."

READ MORE: Targeted school strikes to go ahead as teachers reject pay offer

He said, if he had been in Ms Somerville's position, his party would have implemented "rolling negotiations with the trade unions and local authorities", while the SNP have "delayed and dithered".

"They've wasted time and everybody is suffering as a result," he continued.

"The other thing I would be doing right now is making sure that the SQA were making accommodation for the young people who are losing extra days, on top of the national strikes as they are in Dunfermline, to make sure that their results are protected in the exams process.

"I've been calling for that but I've had no answer from the education secretary, we have to make sure that these kids don't miss out on the results that they deserve as a result of being unfortunate enough to have Shirley-Anne Somerville as their MSP."

But he believes that the Scottish Government can still find a way to appease all parties and stop children from missing out on more school days.

When asked if he thought the SNP and Ms Somerville could broker a deal, he said: "Absolutely they can, they have to, I am really not sure what the alternative is."

READ MORE: Here's the list Dunfermline schools impacted by extra strikes

Scottish Labour councillor Cara Hilton, Education Spokesperson for Fife Council and Dunfermline South representative, said that on a local level parents are concerned about the affect of strikes on their children.

She said: "Parents are really worried about how this is going to impact young people but they're also worried about teachers who are worried about having to feed kids out of their own pockets.

"Some of them go to foodbanks themselves because they are not getting paid enough money to last until the end of the month and that's not acceptable when teachers, who have got such an important part to play in our society, just aren't getting paid enough to live on.

"I think people are supportive of the teachers and understand that this is a last resort action."

Primary, early years and special school settings in the city closed today (Wednesday) and will remain shut to pupils tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday, 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 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.

READ MORE: Revised pay offer for teachers following plans for targeted strikes in Dunfermline

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."