Result of strike ballot ready to be announced

Renfrewshire schools could be hit by industrial action

- EDEL KENEALY

The outcome of a ballot which could force the closure of Renfrewshire schools will be announced today.

EIS, Scotland's largest teachers union, will confirm the results of the nationwide ballot this afternoon as part of a long-running dispute over teacher workload and class-contact time.

EIS - which represents the majority of teachers working in Renfrewshire’s 62 schools - had urged its members to back industrial action.

The action comes five years after the Scottish Government pledged to cut class contact time by 90 minutes a week to give teachers more time for activities such as lesson preparation and marking.