FIVE main secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire are closed today as teachers walked out over money saving plans.

Members of the EIS are picketing Clydebank High School, Dumbarton Academy, Our Lady and St Patrick's High School, St Peter the Apostle High School and Vale of Leven Academy.

Thousands of pupils are affected by the action.

The one-day strike has come following council plans to save money by cutting the number of promoted staff.

Teachers were this morning lined up outside the five affected schools, holding placards with the slogans: "Support the teachers who support your child".

Other banners read: "NO cuts to your children's education" and "Our pupils can't afford your savings".

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, said: "Teachers are taking this action today as a last resort to defend the quality of education provision in West Dunbartonshire secondary schools.

"While we appreciate that strike action can be disruptive, we also hope that pupils and parents will understand the reasons for today's action and will support our campaign to protect quality education for all Secondary pupils in West Dunbartonshire."

Non-EIS members are attending school as normal today, although pupils were asked to stay home.

The action is in protest at West Dunbartonshire Council restructuring plans, which unions say will damage education and add to "already severe" workload.

However, the council argues the practice of cutting the numbers of promoted posts is widespread across Scotland and will result in no reduction in teaching time.

Some 88% of EIS members involved in the dispute voted for industrial action in a recent ballot.

Following today's strike, EIS members will start working to contract from Wednesday.

A council spokeswoman said the authority is doing all it can to find a solution and apologised to pupils and parents for the disruption.

She said: "We met with senior union officials three days ago to try to avoid the need for strike action and presented a package of nine new measures that would address the issue of workload at our secondary schools.

"We also offered to work with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to resolve this through negotiation. Unfortunately, EIS was unwilling to postpone the strike action.

"It is important to highlight that faculty structures exist in most councils in Scotland and that the unions have never previously taken industrial action in opposition to them.

"Our own carefully-considered structure is more generous in terms of school management posts than many.

"The management restructure will result in no reduction in teachers, no reduction in teaching time and no reduction in management time."

Teachers who do not get one of the new promoted posts will have their salaries protected for three years.