Teachers in Scotland have rejected a pay offer which falls well short of the 10% rise they were hoping for.

Employers offered an increase which would have been worth about 3% for most teachers.

The offer was made at the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. A further meeting between unions and employers will take place after Easter.

Scotland's largest teachers' union, the EIS, has been leading a campaign for a 10% pay rise.

It has argued pay has not kept pace with inflation through the years of austerity.

The EIS has a mandate from members to hold a ballot on industrial action if employers do not make what the union regards as a suitable pay offer.

The union said it was committed to negotiations and hoped the employers would make a better offer after Easter.

But if this does not happen, a ballot on action up to and including a strike is likely later in the spring.

The joint pay claim is submitted by the four unions representing teachers - the EIS, the SSTA, the NASUWT, and Voice the Union.

A spokesman for the teachers' side negotiators of SNCT said: "The offer that has been proposed by employers fails to deliver on the need to value education and value teachers by delivering appropriate salaries for Scotland's teaching professionals.

"There is a growing crisis in teacher recruitment and retention across Scotland, and declining rates of pay is one of the key factors contributing to this problem.

"Scotland wants and expects the best teaching professionals but, increasingly, is unwilling to pay appropriate professional salaries to the teachers working in our schools."

He added: "The teachers' side remains committed to negotiations via the SNCT in the hope of agreeing a fair deal for Scotland's teachers."