TEACHERS in Scotland are ready to strike for the first time since the 1980s unless pay is “restored to pre-austerity levels,” the country’s largest teaching union warned yesterday.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said a below-inflation pay rise would be “unacceptable,” ahead of negotiations with the Scottish government and councils on the 2018-19 settlement.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has committed to lifting the 1 per cent public-sector pay cap and giving a 3 per cent rise to NHS staff, police, teachers, and others earning up to £30,000, with 2 per cent for those earning more.